PALM BAY, Fla. – A man who was trespassed from a Walmart in Palm Bay last week for attempting to steal a pack of cigarettes was arrested Thursday after leaving behind an illegal firearm, according to the Palm Bay Police Department.
Justin Horne, 35, a homeless resident of Palm Bay, was trespassed on June 13 because the value of the attempted theft did not initially warrant a law enforcement response, police said.
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An officer was still there, however, who when requesting Horne’s identification was told his ID was “outside in his backpack,” according to an affidavit for Horne’s arrest warrant. Horne left the store without incident and without retrieving the backpack, police said.
Walmart employees later noticed the bag and collected it, observing what they told police appeared to be two firearms inside. A responding officer said the two weapons were a pepper spray pistol and a Harrington & Richardson Model 88 shotgun with no stock and “a majority of the barrel sawed off,” as well as no visible serial number, according to the report.
Police reviewed the trespass report and searched for Horne using the Driver and Vehicle Information Database. Officers said Horne was positively identified as a man seen on surveillance video removing the backpack and leaving it near a shopping cart repository at the store’s west entrance.
Horne was booked at the Brevard County jail, records show. He faces charges of possession of a short-barreled gun and two counts of possession of a firearm/weapon by a convicted felon.