3 times: ‘Filling a shopping cart full of merchandise and attempting to leave,’ police say

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. (TND) — A man with “a prolific history of retail thefts and other crimes” has been arrested again, in part because of his past.

It took a few months and some great detective work.

Jesse Adam Collier was “filling a shopping cart full of merchandise and attempting to leave the store without rendering payment,” the loss prevention officer at a Target in Florida told authorities last Sept. 28.

The arrest report said he and a woman “wandered the store together, selecting multiple items from the various departments such as groceries and home goods, then the female exited the store by herself without any items.

“The male proceeds through the grocery area, then bypasses all points of sale and makes his way to the exit vestibule.

“Here, the [employee] attempts to stop the male; the male abandons the cart.”

The Target employee said there was $1,438.78 worth of merchandise in the cart, before taxes.

Then, he got into “what appears to be a blue Nissan Kicks vehicle with a white roof.

“There were no leads, as the identity of either of these persons and a vehicle tag was not able to be obtained from the footage.”

So, it seemed a would-be thief got away, but a detective with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office “conducted an image search of the persons involved through our department resources by running the security footage of the incident.

“There were no hits on the female involved and as for the male, an investigative hit was provided of Jesse Adam Collier.

“I utilized further investigative databases,” the detective wrote, “and located a Jesse Adam Collier who has a prolific history of retail thefts and other crimes, primarily out of Brevard County.”

Plus, he appeared to be the same height as the loss prevention officer, “and according to records on each,” they’re both 5’11” tall.

After that, the loss prevention officer “identified photo #8 as the person she confronted in the exit vestibule, attempting to leave with unpaid merchandise. Photo #8 was in fact the photo of Jesse Adam Collier.”

That work took a month-and-a-half, and on Nov. 7, the detective filed an affidavit for an arrest warrant. That was approved in about a day. Then, on Feb. 1, Collier was charged with grand theft between $750 and $5,000.

Collier is accused of doing something similar — twice — earlier in 2023.

On Feb. 4 of last year, Brevard County deputies set up a perimeter outside a Walmart in Melbourne after Collier reportedly

“exited the store past all points of sale from the southeast exit with the shopping cart of stolen items later determined to be electronics, both music and tools, bedding. batteries, and bike parts.”

The arrest report said when a deputy “exited his vehicle, Mr. Collier fled southeast in the parking lot, leaving the cart full of items behind. The total value of the items stolen was $1,657,96.”

The deputy caught Collier, and he was taken to a hospital, then jail. The document didn’t mention the reason for the hospital, but his booking photo shows bruising under his left eye and on his cheek.

Then, just 19 days later, another Walmart in Melbourne, and eight items worth $364.45.

On this occasion, the asset protection investigator “intercepted Jesse and escorted him back. Jesse was wearing a neck brace and a medical-style mask,” which he removed before he “fled the store.

“Jesse got into a blue-colored four-door vehicle and left the property.”

The arrest report noted he was out on bond from earlier in the month and had “multiple convictions for petit theft.”

Collier seemed to get away for a few weeks, but he was collared on March 14, 2023, when he “appeared in open court for an unrelated case.”

He was arrested for the latest incident at Target in nearby Lake County on May 30 and returned to Orange County on June 4.

Collier, 35, pleaded not guilty, and his trial date is scheduled for Oct. 21.