Trending Topics

Florida Store Owner Arrested After Shooting a Man Over Stolen Beer

A Lakeland, Florida convenient store owner is behind bars for violently shooting a man over $36 worth of stolen beer.

43-year-old Rennie Defoe Jr. of Plant City walked into a Shell gas station on Tuesday evening around 11:40 p.m. and grabbed three packs 18 packs of Natural Ice Beer, WTSP reported. He headed right back out of the store without purchasing any of the items. The co-owner, 22-year-old Mehedeun Hasan and his father trotted after the man.

Camera footage showed Defoe flinging the stolen beer into his white Toyota Camry and  enter the vehicle. The 22-year-old chased after the man with a 9mm gun in his hand and approached the 43-year-old. He then shot Defoe through his car window just as the man was driving off from the store’s parking lot.

The bullet entered Defoe’s chest and left arm, causing the man to crash at a Florida intersection. He was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center gunshot wound left him in critical condition.

There was no weapon found on Defoe and the man only spewed verbal threats which is why Polk County Sheriff’s Office handcuffed the 22-year-old and took him into custody on Wednesday. He was charged with second-degree attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Deadly force can only be used if a person feels their life is threatened and not for the act of theft according to spokesperson Scott Wilder of the sheriff’s office.

Back to top