BEDFORD – A shoplifting report at a local Walmart escalated into a foot chase and the deployment of a K9 unit on Sunday evening, resulting in the arrest of two men.
On December 21, 2025, at approximately 6:34 p.m. Bedford Police responded to the Walmart at 3200 John Williams Blvd. Store Asset Protection (AP) agents reported that two men, later identified as Anthony Statzer and David Brandenburg, were “skip-scanning” items at a self-checkout station.
According to witness statements, store employees attempted to intervene and allow the men to correct the transaction. Instead, the suspects abandoned all merchandise—including items they had actually paid for—and fled the store on foot.
Officer Michael Bell arrived on the scene as the suspects ran toward the west side of the parking lot. Officer Bell utilized his vehicle’s public address system to issue a K9 warning, ordering the men to surrender or risk being bitten by his police dog, Castiel.
The suspects ignored the warnings and fled toward a tree line near Becky Skillman Way.
Statzer was apprehended shortly after by Officer Jones on the far side of the roadway. Brandenburg initially evaded officers in the woods but was located and taken into custody following a search of the area by multiple units.
Police located a silver 2000 Dodge Dakota used by the suspects in the parking lot. In the bed of the truck, officers recovered a ROKU streaming stick and a Gamo dot sight that had been stolen during the incident. The total value of the unpaid merchandise was cited at $58.12.
While a K9 “free air sniff” of the vehicle alerted officers to the possible presence of narcotics, a subsequent search yielded only a glass smoking device, which was seized for destruction.
Both men were transported to the Lawrence County Jail. They face preliminary charges of theft and resisting arrest by fleeing.
Records checks revealed that Brandenburg has a prior conviction for theft out of Rush County from 2022. Both defendants remained in the custody of the Lawrence County Jail.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
