Thief Used Shopping Cart to Steal Beer, BBQ Supplies, Deputies Say

Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputies recently put a damper on the apparent party plans of a Palm Harbor man.

Deputies arrested Christopher Thomas Cirello, 34, on July 6, after employees of the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Dunedin called 911 to say he stole a shopping cart of items that included beer and barbecue supplies.

Cirello placed cases of Heineken, Miller Natural Light and Corona beers in the cart along with a package of styrofoam plates, Bic lighters, a bag of charcoal and a package of Little Hug Fruit Barrels and then pushed the cart out of the store, according to an arrest affidavit.

He then loaded the items into a red Plymouth van and left. A store employee got the van's license plate number and called 911 and told the dispatcher what direction the van was headed.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputies then pulled over the van and arrested Cirello. Deputies say the items, which were valued at $73.58, were still in the van.

Cirello was charged with one count of retail theft and one count of driving with a suspended or revoked license. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting $1,150 bond.

• Subscribe to the Palm Harbor Patch newsletter to have local news delivered to your email each day. Sign up here.