TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Crawfordville couple was arrested in Tallahassee after police say they used their 2-year-old child's stroller to shoplift from a local Walmart.
Matthew Vautier, 27, and Evie McCoy, 37, were arrested after attempting to steal from the Walmart on 3221 North Monroe Street.
On Monday around 7:30 p.m., the Leon County Sheriff's Office was called to the Walmart about two individuals in the store who were known for stealing items so they could later return them for gift cards.
The two individuals, identified as Vautier and McCoy, were caught on camera stealing several items, to include a gallon of motor oil, tampons, and panty liners, and hiding those items in their 2-year-old child's stroller.
Court documents say that once the pair passed the final point of sale, a deputy inside the store tried to stop them. Another LCSO deputy also approached the couple and told them to stop.
However, Vautier, who was pushing the 2-year-old child in the stroller, refused and said, "No you aren't stopping me with my daughter."
Vautier continued walking away with the child, so the deputies separated him from the stroller and tased him. Documents say Vautier continued to resist and at some point, tried to pull away one deputy's taser.
Deputies say they managed to tase Vautier a second time, but he kept fighting them, kicking one of the deputies. Eventually Vautier broke free, stomping on a deputy's finger in the process.
Documents say he ran across the Walmart parking lot and across North Monroe Street. Deputies lost sight of Vautier as he ran behind the Mckenzie Mark gas station.
Thanks to LCSO K-9 units, Vautier was eventually found and arrested. Deputies note he was bitten by a K-9, so he was transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for an evaluation.
When deputies spoke to McCoy, she said that she didn't know Vautier had been placing stolen items in the child's stroller, however, surveillance video showed McCoy was working with Vautier in Monday's theft and has been involved with similar thefts on more than one occasion.
Vautier refused to speak with authorities.
Based on the investigation, McCoy and Vautier were charged with petit theft (second offense for McCoy). Additionally, Vautier is facing charges for resisting with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, and depriving an officer of a weapon.
As of Thursday, Vautier remains in the Leon County Detention Facility on a $3,250 bond. McCoy got out of jail on a $500 bond.
