Staff Reports
Columbus police officers arrested a Tennessee man Saturday evening after recovering several thousand dollars of stolen merchandise.
CPD officers were dispatched at approximately 4:45 p.m. to Walmart, located at 735 Whitfield Drive, in regards to a shoplifting suspect inside the store, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
When officers arrived, they met with store security and confronted the suspect a short time later. The suspect, who was identified as Gregg Lestingi, 51, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, reportedly put several scientific calculators inside a mailbox and then used the self-checkout lane where only the mailbox was purchased.
Gregg Lestingi
Officers located Lestingi’s vehicle in the store parking lot and observed suspected stolen merchandise inside his vehicle. Officers applied for and later received a search warrant for Lestingi’s vehicle and recovered several additional suspected stolen calculators and over-the-counter medicine supplements, Harris said.
Officers believe that Lestingi was planning to sell the stolen items on the internet. The value of the stolen property recovered was approximately $8,500.
Lestingi was transported to the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of felony theft and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Lestingi was being held in jail in lieu of $100,000 bond, jail officials said.
