A Benton man is charged with robbery in relation to an alleged attempt to steal several tools from a local store.
On August 15th, 2020, about 3:19 p.m., Benton Police officers answered a shoplifting call by staff at the Walmart location at 17309 Interstate 30 S, Benton.
According to an officer’s report, the description was a male in a gray shirt and khaki shorts who was concealing merchandise. When the officer arrived, he was told the male was exiting the store through the grocery side and pushed employees on his way out.
The officer stated that he witnessed the male running through the parking lot and was able to navigate the parking lot to get to him. He said he pulled in front of the male and placed him into handcuffs. The male was then identified as Steve Ham, age 47, of Benton.
In a statement, staff at Walmart said he saw the male take merchandise from the shelves in the hardware area and place the merchandise in Walmart shopping bags in the furniture Department. He said he confronted ham and ham tried to leave. When he was at the exit to the business, the man stood in Ham’s way and Ham pushed him to exit the business. Ham dropped the merchandise while exiting the business after he passed the last point of sale. The staff member retrieved all of the merchandise and scanned it, for a total of $118.15.
Ham was taken to the Saline County Jail and charged with Felony Robbery. Ham was booked Saturday night August 15th, 9:58 p.m. and was released Sunday night, August 16th, 11:28 p.m.