Surveillance video shows Jameis Winston appearing to go out of his way to avoid walking past store security with his 30-odd dollars worth of crab legs, perhaps putting the lie to his claim to officers
that he had forgotten to pay.
The Tallahassee Democrat has obtained the incident report from the Leon County Sheriff's Office, which you can read below.
Last Tuesday, Winston entered the Tallahassee Publix and ordered from the seafood counter three pounds of crab legs with Old Bay, and one pound of crawfish with Cajun seasoning. He then left the store before returning to pick up his order. On his way out he stopped in the dairy aisle to grab a package of butter. The responding deputy describes what he saw in the footage from store surveillance cameras:
When Mr. Winston reached the front of the store, Deputy Graves was visible in front of Mr. Winston. Deputy Graves was working a security detail in the store in an off-duty capacity at the time of the theft. Mr. Winston paused visibly near a series of sale bins and allowed Deputy Graves to pass in front of him. The pause appeared to be an attempt to avoid walking in front of Deputy Graves. Mr. Winston then walked behind Deputy Graves, passed all points of sale, and exited the store without paying for the merchandise.
A store employee and a manager, who both recognized Winston, assumed he was going to get a shopping cart. When he didn't return, they contacted police.
There's still a big mystery here: The Mystery of the Disappearing Publix Butter. Winston admitted to deputies that he didn't pay for the seafood, but told them he had dropped the butter in a sale bin at the front of the store before leaving, after he realizing he didn't need it. But surveillance video didn't show him putting down the butter, and a search of the sale bin (hours later) didn't turn up the butter.
Where's the butter, Jameis?!
Winston was given a civil citation for shoplifting. He was handed 20 hours of community service and an indefinite suspension from FSU's baseball team. It was
announced on Sunday that he had completed the 20 hours and would be reinstated.
Wake me when it's over.
