Three Caught Stealing TVs from Sarasota Walmart, Deputies Say

Three Charlotte County men were caught trying to steal two flat-screen televisions from a Walmart in Sarasota, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies were contacted around 6 p.m. Tuesday night by a loss prevention officer at the Walmart Supercenter, 4381 Cattlemen Rd., who saw two customers leaving without paying for two large TVs.

Deputies found the two in the parking lot and quickly took them into custody as they tried to flee, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

A third suspect who had been waiting for the men in red Ford Explorer sped away, deputies said. They stopped him at the Casa Del Sol development across the street and took him into custody.

Sean Joyce, 26, and Carlos Richart, 33, both of Punta Gorda, are charged with grand theft and resisting an officer without violence. The two men have criminal histories in Sarasota County, authorities said.

The driver, 26-year-old Bruce Swartz, of Port Charlotte, is charged with principal to grand theft, reckless driving and resisting arrest without violence.