A St. Thomas man has been arrested on grand larceny charges for walking out of Home Depot with unpaid merchandise, admitting to knowing the cashier purposefully discounted the price of his items, the V.I. Police Department reported Tuesday.
On Jan. 26, the Economic Crime Unit initiated an investigation into embezzlement, based on a complaint filed by Home Depot. The complainant, on behalf of Home Depot, stated that a former employee allowed people to walk out of the store with unpaid merchandise. The investigation revealed that Larry Webbe was identified as one of the individuals who benefited from receiving unpaid merchandise, according to the police report.
On Feb. 22, Webbe was interviewed. He admitted to knowing the Home Depot cashier and acknowledged that the items were valued at over $1000. He admitted that he paid only $28.93, and he chose not to return the items because he did not want the Home Depot employee to get in trouble, the police report stated.
On Thursday, Webbe was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Cyril E. King International Airport and turned over to the Economic Crime Unit Detectives. He was then arrested for grand larceny (aiding and abetting) and buying, receiving, or possessing stolen property, the report stated.
Based on the incident, Webbe’s bail was set at $20,000. Unable to post bail he was transported and remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice of rights hearing scheduled for Wednesday at the Superior Court, police said.
