BEDFORD – A homeless man well-known to local authorities was arrested Saturday afternoon after employees at a local Walgreens found him incapacitated on a store display.
Casey J. Mathews, 53, faces a preliminary charge of public intoxication following the incident at the Walgreens located at 1215 16th Street.
At approximately 1:22 p.m. on March 21, 2026, Bedford Police were dispatched to the pharmacy after an employee reported a male was “passed out” inside the store. While the caller noted the man was breathing, they expressed serious concern for his welfare.
Upon arrival, Officer Joshua Turner located Mathews lying on an item display. According to the probable cause affidavit, Mathews was unable to stand on his own and nearly fell several times while officers attempted to assist him. Officer Turner noted that Mathews was so unstable that he eventually fell to the floor, where he reportedly volunteered to officers that he had been “drinking alcohol all night and day.”
The store manager told police that while she was familiar with Mathews from previous visits, his behavior on Saturday was uncharacteristically aggressive.
Before police arrived, Mathews had allegedly been stumbling through the aisles, nearly knocking over a display shelf. When employees tried to check on him, he reportedly became verbally abusive and challenged them to “call the cops” because he was not scared of them.
The level of intoxication was so severe that Mathews fell again during the booking process at the Lawrence County Jail. Per jail policy, staff refused to take custody of him until he received medical clearance. Mathews was transported to IU Health Bedford, where he was monitored until he was deemed fit for incarceration.
While Mathews was being treated, Walgreens management officially requested that he be trespassed from the property. He was served with a trespass notification at the Bedford Police Department, where he verbally acknowledged that returning to the store would lead to further arrest.
Mathews was successfully booked into the Lawrence County Jail later that day on a single count of public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor.
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.
