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Last updated on Wednesday, January 15, 2014
(FORT WAYNE) - A man is accused of stuffing an $80 beef loin down his pants at Kroger in an attempt to get a refund for the stolen meat, according to police.
He then complained to Kroger's customer line that the store wouldn't let him return the meat because of his race.
According to the affidavit for probable cause, Joseph E. Marable and Shadrick A. Solares went to the Waynedale Kroger store on Bluffton Road back in October. Surveillance video shows Marable taking a whole beef loin from the store's beef display and placing it in a hand basket.
The two then walked down a different aisle, where Marable stuffed the beef loin in his pants. Marable and Solares then walked out of the store without paying for the meat.
Around 20 minutes later, Marable dropped Solares off at a different Kroger store to return the beef loin, according to court documents.
The manager refused to give Solares a refund because she didn't have a receipt and the label on the beef loin said it was from the Waynedale store.
According to police, Marable then called Kroger's customer service line and claimed the store would not give him a refund on the meat because he was black. Store officials said Marable identified himself as Joe Marable in the complaint.
Later that night, Marable and Solares walked into another Kroger store and attempted to return the beef loin again. At first, the manager refused the refund, but he eventually gave the couple a gift card for the price of the meat.
The next day, a Kroger manager contacted Marable about his race complaint. The manager offered Marable an additional gift card.
According to police, Solares went to Kroger to get the second gift card, and the manager recognized her from surveillance video he had seen from the theft.
Solares then admitted Marable stole the beef loin. On Monday, Marable was charged with theft, a Class D felony.
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