Sweetbay Says Man Stuffed Steaks In Pants
Deputies say that when Stephen Bruce Tinker was stealing family packages of beef steaks Friday from a Sweetbay in Seffner, he didn’t have to look far for a hiding place.
Tinker, 50, stuffed the two packages into his jeans, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman J.D. Callaway.
Tinker did this while a security guard was watching him, Callaway said.
When Tinker walked out of the store without paying for the beef, valued at $69, the guard stopped him.
Tinker pushed the guard but was eventually apprehended, according to a criminal report affidavit.
Such an attempted theft is only the tip of the iceberg for he supermarket, said Dean Wheeler, Sweetbay assistant store manager.
“Seems like there has been a rash of thefts lately,” said Wheeler, chalking up the trend to the sour economy. “When times get tough, it is even worse. And it has gotten worse.”
The steaks, he said, are popular targets.
They are a high-value item that is easy to hide, he said.
“They resell them in bars,” said Wheeler. “We are told people walk into a bar and offer them for half price and someone usually takes them up on it.
“I am sure they are not in their pants when they go to sell it, because I sure wouldn’t buy them.”
Tinker was charged with robbery.
He was being held at Orient Road Jail on Saturday with no bail set, according to jail records, which show he violated his probation on an earlier assault charge.
