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Store theft charge still hangs over 82-year-old

Winn-Dixie dropped prosecution of a forgetful shopper over a $4.99 shrimp ring. But a court hearing doesn't end it.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published August 10, 2005

On the day she was arrested, Thelma Dalacos planned to do something she had done for years: Make stuffed grape leaves.

While waiting for a Winn-Dixie butcher to grind up a roast last month, she asked for a $5 ring of shrimp.

She put it into the plastic bag she had used to carry the beef she brought from home, walked out and set off an alarm.

Dalacos, mother of Tarpon Springs City Commissioner Peter Dalacos and a longtime Tarpon resident, offered to pay and told police she was on medication for memory loss. But the store manager pressed charges.

On Tuesday, the 82-year-old Dalacos learned she is still facing legal hurdles even though Winn-Dixie has decided against pursuing charges. The State Attorney's Office is reviewing the case and will decide in the next few weeks whether to file charges against Dalacos.

"Regardless of race, gender, or age, we've got to look at these cases on a neutral basis," said David Tobiassen, assistant county court director with the State Attorney's Office.

Since Dalacos' July 14 arrest at the Winn-Dixie at 955 S Pinellas Ave. in Tarpon Springs, community members have rallied behind the former Tarpon Leader columnist.

"She worked hard for the Tarpon Leader," said her friend Jesse Burke, 64. "Everybody in town knew her to say hello and goodbye to when they saw her at a funeral or wedding."

When Dalacos gets stressed her words don't come out quite right. The night of her arrest, "she was so beside herself I would have to ask her two and three times to understand what she was trying to convey," Burke said.

A pretrial hearing for Dalacos is set for Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

"The main element in the case is the intention to steal, and she just did not have that intention," said Herbert Elliott, Dalacos' attorney. "Her mental state is a part of that and medication is a part of that."

Dennis Wortham, communications manager for Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., said he did not have details about what happened that day.

"I don't know what was said," said Wortham from the chain's Jacksonville headquarters. "But in light of information brought to our attention after the fact, the decision has been made to drop all charges."

It's not the first time a local Winn-Dixie has dropped charges against a person suspected of stealing from the store.

In June 2000, 55-year-old Clara Woodward was arrested and booked into Pinellas County Jail for allegedly stealing a $6.96 umbrella from the Winn-Dixie store at 850 Third Ave. S. She later proved the umbrella was her own.

Later that year, Kathleen Ann Germack, 39, was accused of stealing a $2.58 package of false fingernails while shopping at the Winn-Dixie at 1049 62nd Ave. N.

Both were cleared of the charges.

City Commissioner Peter Dalacos said an accident last year in which his mother hit her head may be making her memory loss worse. "When we go to functions she may introduce me to people I already know or stuff like that," he said.

At Tuesday's hearing, Thelma Dalacos and husband Costas, 78, stuck close together, mixing nerves and humor.

Costas Dalacos jokingly told his wife to pose for a mug shot when a newspaper photographer snapped her picture outside the courtroom. Dalacos repeatedly wrung a crumpled white paper towel while people filed into the courtroom.

And when asked to stand before Judge Donald E. Horrox, the petite woman in an ankle-length denim dress asked the judge to wish her a happy birthday.

"I'm 82 tomorrow," she said.

Nicole Johnson can be reached at 727 771-4303 or njohnson@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 10, 2005, 00:37:16]