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Shopping trip on birthday plants man behind bars
By DUANE BOURNE SPRING HILL -- Charles Glenn Coleman Jr. began his 36th birthday early Tuesday in the parking lot at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Cortez Boulevard. Authorities say he had a shopping cart full of items and no receipt to prove he paid for them. By the end of the day, Coleman was behind bars at the Hernando County Jail, thanks in large part to assistance from two bystanders -- one of whom whacked the shoplifting suspect with her crutches and the other who lay on top of him until sheriff's deputies could arrive. The Sheriff's Office gave this account: About 6 a.m. Tuesday, Ana Abusharia, 34, a door greeter at Wal-Mart, noticed Coleman walking from the bakery department behind a shopping cart filled with two 19-inch televisions, two videocassette recorders, a DVD player, a paintball gun, a cheesecake and a piece of tangelo. Coleman, of 16106 Pointview Road, west of Brooksville, stopped at a refrigerator, guzzled a bottle of Pepsi and walked toward the exit. After Coleman passed through the second set of sliding glass doors, Abusharia grabbed the cart to stop him. But when Coleman said he had a gun, she let go. Abusharia then ran inside the store and told store managers, who contacted authorities. In the meantime, Shanetra McCollum, 29, heard the commotion and saw Coleman running toward a dark-colored car with its trunk and rear door open. "(McCollum) puts her car in a position to block him," said Lt. Joseph Paez, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. "(Coleman) said, 'Hey, lady, I got a gun,' and she smacks him with her crutches." McCollum noticed a bulge in Coleman's waistband, but "that did not seem to stop her," Paez said, adding that the woman overheard Coleman call the driver of the car "Steve." Irate, Coleman again told McCollum that he had a gun, and she struck him a second time with the crutches. As Coleman loaded the items into the car, he exchanged words with the driver, who authorities said might not have been aware of what Coleman was doing. Shortly thereafter, the pair began to fight. "The confrontation may have been a disagreement over why they were at the Wal-Mart," said Paez. Seconds later, the unidentified man jumped into the car and pulled away with Coleman hanging onto the rear door. As the car sped away, Coleman lost his grip and fell in the parking lot. That's when the second bystander jumped into action. Anthony Diagostino, 38, saw Coleman being thrown from the car, and he held him down until authorities arrived. Coleman was arrested and charged with grand theft, a felony. He was being held Wednesday at the county jail in lieu of $2,000 bail. Paez said authorities are looking for "Steve," even though it appears he may not have been a willing participant with Coleman. "We'd just like to talk to him," Paez said. -- Duane Bourne covers law enforcement and emergency services in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to dbourne@sptimes.com.
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