Forsyth County father, son spend night in jail after Walmart mistakes them for crooks

ATLANTA - A Forsyth County father’s visit to his local Walmart ended in handcuffs after store employees accused him of shoplifting. All it took was a call to FOX 5 to get those charges dismissed. 

Michael Kruse told FOX 5 he's probably been to Walmart hundreds of times, but he never would’ve imagined a trip to this one would land him and his teen son in jail, falsely accused of stealing bags of sand that a receipt showed they paid for.

Body camera video from Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies showed the officers reviewing surveillance video of a reported theft at a Walmart on Browns Mill Road last Saturday. The clip showed a man walking into the store, then out with several bags of sand.

Kruse told FOX 5 that Walmart used the video as probable cause to send deputies after him and his son. But, he said they were missing a fundamental part of the story.

"The security guard had started the tape and started looking while we were at the sand. While we were looking for a cart to get the sand, she didn’t bother to go back an extra two minutes to see we were actually in line at the cash register," Kruse explained.

 Kruse said he’d taken his two sons, an 18-year-old, who actually works at another Walmart location, and his 4-year-old, with him to pick up a few items, including sand for a sandbox he was building in their backyard.

"It just was $71, but the sand itself was $49.97," he said.

The sheriff's office issued misdemeanor warrants based on the video Walmart provided.

Michael Kruse, Walmart Shopper: "I told the arresting officers that I could produce a receipt, and they said, ‘Do you have it right now?’ I was in my driveway in handcuffs with my forearm in my spine and I said, ‘I can go get it,’ and they just rolled their eyes and said they were coming with us."

Kruse and his son spent the night in jail. He said it wasn’t until he reached out to FOX 5, and our newsroom reached out to the sheriff’s office that they realized there had been a mistake.

"A detective was immediately sent to Walmart that morning within minutes of the phone call. They reviewed the tapes and determined we purchased the sand from the cashier," Kruse said.

The solicitor’s office dropped the charges, expunged both their records and reimbursed their bond.

"When you take out a warrant for somebody’s arrest you’ve got to be 100% sure," Kruse said. "You have to realize what this is doing to that person."

The Forysth County Sheriff's Office told FOX 5 that Walmart "agreed they were wrong on the accusations."

FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Joi Dukes asked Walmart for comment, but they referred back to the sheriff's office.