Police catch Walmart bandits

Published 1:12 am Friday, December 9, 2011

Two men believed to be responsible for Walmart’s “Super Saturday” thefts have been identified and arrested.

Sgt. Jason Curry said a “good citizen,” who wished to remain anonymous, recognized the men after seeing their pictures printed in the Wednesday edition of The Star-News.

“The citizen called and said, “I know these guys,” Curry said. “(The citizen then) came in and watched the video and was able to ID the third man, and from that information, we were able to make the arrests.”

The men allegedly took advantage of the after-Thanksgiving shopping rush, loading up two televisions and three cases of beers and made their way out one of the building’s fire escapes with the merchandise.

Arrested were Gary Lee Baldwin, 28, of Mississippi, and Joshua Bitzer, 26, of Greenville, Tenn. The two men were working in Covington County at the time of the incident, Curry said.

A third man, who also been identified, is being sought by police, and Curry said it was determined that a fourth man, the driver of a white pickup truck , was not involved in the crime.

Curry expressed his gratitude to the “good citizen” for coming forward with the information.