It wasn’t the stolen bikes that took him in. It was the Coca-Cola.
Brian C. Wasilenko, 36, of Gainesville, is accused of stealing two bicycles from Walmart last Thursday and Aug. 23, according to a Gainesville Police arrest report. On Saturday, Wasilenko was arrested after he drank a bottle of Coca-Cola without paying, police said.
A Walmart security guard told police he saw Wasilenko drink the Coke and leave the store, the report said. Police approached Wasilenko less than a mile away from the store and asked him to return to Walmart with them.
While at the store, the guard told police Wasilenko stole a Mongoose bike Aug. 23 and a black mountain bike last Thursday, said GPD Lt. Marc Plourde. The guard showed police photographs of Wasilenko stealing a Mongoose bicycle worth $129 and a black mountain bicycle worth $149, police said.
After he was read his Miranda rights, Wasilenko admitted to stealing the bikes from Walmart, police said. He told police he gave the bikes to homeless people or threw them in the woods.
Wasilenko was charged with one count of retail theft and one count of swindling property. He was released from Alachua County Jail Sunday morning without bond.
Contact Amanda Rosa at arosa@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @AmandaNicRosa
Brian C. Wasilenko
