Georgia Police Release a Blurry Walmart Photo of an Elderly Man, Asking the Public to Help Catch Him Over $30
You cannot find it and keep it, it seems.
People usually consider themselves lucky when they stumble upon cash on the ground, but for one man, his casual find nearly turned into a legal case against him. On Aug. 18, the Albany Police Department in Georgia shared on their social media a grainy CCTV photo of an elderly man shopping in Walmart with a pushcart and asked the community for help in identifying the man.
According to the police department’s post, the incident happened at a Walmart located on North Slappey Boulevard and involved an elderly man. The department alleged that a Walmart shopper dropped $30 while in the store, before the elderly man in question found the money on the ground.
Albany Police claimed the man kept the money instead of surrendering it to the store’s employees, before appealing to the public for help in locating the man. “The Albany Police Department would like the public’s assistance with identifying the suspect in the photo,” the police department said in its post. “Anyone with information that may assist with identifying this individual is asked to contact the Albany Police Department at 229-431-2100.”
Georgia police criticized
The Albany Police Department’s post attracted a significant amount of attention. While this seemed like a case that showed police serving members of the community, the public thought otherwise. Many criticized the department’s choice to use its resources to publicize a man’s photo over the alleged $30 crime.
“You really decided this was the case of the century to publicize? Maybe I need to move to Albany where quite literally nothing happens,” one comment read. “Not to be critical of the APD and how they use their resources but here I am,” a second comment read. Another said, “Wait… you want to find this man because he didn’t report to yall about finding it? What was they going to do? ‘ATTENTION SHOPPERS! $30 HAS BEEN FOUND. IF IT BELONGS TO YOU, PLEASE COME GET IT…’”
Some users even wondered if the post was satire due to its supposed absurdity. “This is a joke, right?” one user asked. “So is my toddler going to get arrested for picking up change he finds too????” another comment read. “Leads? Yeah, sure. I’ll just check with the boys down at the crime lab. They’ve got four more detectives working on the case. They got us working in shifts! IYKYK.”
Walmart shopper dropped the charges
While this was a simple case of the old “finders keepers,” Georgia law states otherwise. According to the Code of Georgia, a person can be accused of theft of lost or mislaid property if they are aware that the property belongs to someone, yet take it for themselves without attempting to return the property to its rightful owner using reasonable measures.
On Aug. 22, the Albany Police Department shared an update on the incident. According to the police department, the elderly man involved in the alleged theft had returned the $30 found to the Walmart shopper who lost it, avoiding a legal charge. “The victim initially wished to pursue charges, but after the money was returned, advised that they no longer wished to press charges. No charges will be filed,” the department said.
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