Tom Lemons had just heard on a police scanner about a shoplifting incident going on at a Brooksville Walmart Thursday. And as he pulled into a parking space, there was the suspect right in front of him.
“I’m like this has got to be him,” he said.
Lemons often puts himself in the middle of dangerous situations as part of his online news service called Real News Real Fast.
“I’ve been slapped, punched.”
In this case, not only is he close to getting run down, but he then runs after the van as it drove off.
“When you are in the moment and you are looking through that lens, you really don’t care about the surroundings. It’s a little risky but it didn’t matter because I just wanted to get that shot.”
The alleged thieves got some of the stolen items in the van, but with Tom’s camera rolling they left the rest behind.
“Trying to go backwards as fast as they can because I guess they are trying to prevent me from catching their license plate.”
The Hernando County Sheriff’s office said thanks to Lemon’s video, they got the license plate number, and identified the van’s owner. But they haven’t tracked them down yet.
Their van has a broken tail light. And the truck they hit has a big dent.
“We don’t always catch the crazy action, but sometimes we do,” said Lemons.
The Sheriff’s office said the investigation is still open and they are looking for the man in the video and the woman who was driving.
The two are facing charges for theft and hit and run.
