Complete Story On Wal-Mart Incident Surfaces

COLUMBUS (WCBI/CPD RELEASE) –  An apparent robbery inside the Columbus Walmart Wednesday evening August 30, 2017 has turned out to be retaliation between two parties that had a previous business deal go bad. 

Columbus police identified and questioned two suspects in the case early Friday. Those suspects were not charged and are not in custody due to a lack of cooperation from the victim.
Surveillance video from inside the Columbus Walmart showed the victim in an altercation with another man near 9 p.m. in the electronics division. Columbus police released the video to the news media Thursday evening. By late Friday morning, the suspects had been identified and voluntarily reported to the police department for questioning.
The suspects report that the victim had sold them defective merchandise and when they complained, the victim gave them a refund, but with alleged counterfeit cash. The business deal was arranged through a Facebook post after which the victim stopped all communications with the suspects.
The suspects just happened to see the victim in Walmart and then confronted him in an effort to get their money back. “They wanted their money back from him for the bad merchandise and the counterfeit money,” said Captain Brent Swan of the Columbus police department.
    District Attorney Scott Colom would not comment on the specific crime but in general emphasized on Friday that citizens should not take the law into their own hands.
“Even if you have been wronged or cheated, citizens can’t take the law into their own hands,” said Colom. “Law enforcement and the legal system are the ways to handle allegations of wrong doing, not by going after someone yourself. Call the police or sheriff and get us involved. That is the legal and proper way to proceed.”
For charges to be filed, Columbus police need cooperation of the victim. At this time, the victim has chosen to not cooperate, so charges have not been filed.

WCBI’s Renae Skinner spoke with the family in the video and they will share their story on WCBI  News at 6