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A city man accused of taking more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from the Plank Road Commons Walmart on Wednesday is behind bars.
Anthony M. Bonasso, 38, was arraigned Friday before Magisterial District Judge Matthew Dunio on felony charges of retail theft, receiving stolen property and evading arrest, along with misdemeanor charges of defiant trespass, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Unable to post $50,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for July 6 before Dunio.
According to the affidavit, Walmart Asset Protection reported a retail theft in progress at the store at 7:55 p.m. Bonasso had been surveilled as he sporadically and quickly selected high ticket merchandise and loading it into a shopping cart.
About 8:05 p.m., Bonasso pushed open the fire door near the auto center and pushed the cart of merchandise into the parking lot and began running with the cart. When he saw police, he pushed the cart aside and ran into the store, court documents state.
Police pursued him on foot and took Bonasso into custody after he tripped. Police learned Bonasso was trespassing in the store because he had a November 2022 retail theft incident.
Walmart Asset Protection reportedly noticed Bonasso with a couple of tents in men's clothing. Bonasso was acting suspicious, and Walmart security watched him on video as he selected men's clothing and accessories, shoes and shoe inserts and then walked into electronics where he placed headphones and a soundbar into his cart. Bonasso is also accused of concealing a security camera in his jacket before putting a projector in his cart, going into office supplies and putting a fire safe in the cart. He then headed to hardware where he placed two ceiling fans, a garden hose and furniture slides in his cart. He then walked out the fire door on the back wall, Walmart security reported.
The total value of selected, concealed and stolen merchandise -- totaling 42 items -- was $1,721.74, court documents state.
Bonasso has two prior retail theft convictions, police reported.