DeLAND, Fla. – A man who stole steak from a local grocery store stripped naked as meat fell from his pants in an attempt to get away, but ultimately ended up getting Tased on his genitals, according to the DeLand Police Department.
Police said a shopper at Save-A-Lot on Woodland Boulevard saw 28-year-old Stefan Short stuffing ribeye steaks in his pants Friday evening so he alerted a manager and together the two men confronted Short.
The manager told Short to return the meat he shoved down his pants but Short refused, so the two men tackled him to the ground, records show.
“No, you are not going to do this to me again. You come in here and steal all the time. You are not getting away this time,” the manager said, according to a witness.
Short shimmied out of his clothes in an attempt to escape as meat fell out of his pants but he was found running naked from the store when officers arrived, according to the affidavit.
Authorities said Short refused to obey their commands so they used a Taser on him, striking him with a prong on his genitals and another prong on his abdomen.
Officers removed the prong from Short’s abdomen but he had to be taken to a hospital to have the other prong removed from his penis, records show.
Body camera video from the arrest shows Short naked on the ground in front of the store, wailing and screaming that he was beat up.
When questioned about the incident, Short said he couldn’t remember putting the steaks in his pants and that the men ripped his clothes off during the fight, according to the affidavit.
Short is accused of stealing four ribeye steaks and a butterscotch pudding valued at $42.23. The manager at the store said he’s a perpetual shoplifter, records show. According to Volusia County records, Short has been arrested more than a dozen time since 2010 for shoplifting, burglary and battery.
Short is facing charges of resisting an officer without violence, resisting a store employee while committing a theft and first-degree petty theft. Records show he entered a plea of no contest.
News 6 reached out to Save-A-Lot’s corporate office and received the following statement: “We are aware of a suspected shoplifting incident in our DeLand store on February 14 and are cooperating fully with local authorities. While we do not comment on ongoing police investigations, the safety of customers and employees is our top priority and we are working to ensure appropriate security measures are in place in the store.”