A man walked into the Clermont Publix at 13900 County Road 455 around 11:57 a.m. on Oct. 16, selected various grocery items and strolled past every register without paying. About 30 minutes later, he returned, selected roughly 15 packages of steak and again walked past every register without paying. Now Clermont police are asking the public for help figuring out who he is.
According to WFTV, investigators say the man first selected various grocery items, bypassed all points of sale and left without paying. About 30 minutes later, he returned, selected approximately 15 packages of steak and again walked past all points of sale without paying. Police put Publix's total estimated loss from the incidents at approximately $416. The incidents happened on Oct. 16.
What's stranger still: the same man reportedly came back to that Publix about 30 minutes after walking out with groceries, selected approximately 15 packages of steak and walked past all points of sale without paying, according to the report. That second theft was part of the Clermont Police Department's notice seeking to identify him.
Police Ask the Public to Step Forward
The Clermont Police Department has asked anyone who recognizes the man or knows his identity to come forward. People with information can contact the department at [email protected].
No further description of the suspect has been released, and it remains unknown whether he has since been identified, located or taken into custody.
Not an Isolated Grocery Problem in Florida
Clermont's case is far from the only instance of alleged meat theft rattling Florida supermarkets this year. In January, a man was arrested after allegedly stealing nearly $4,000 worth of meat from two Publix stores in Palm Coast, according to ClickOrlando. Surveillance footage allegedly captured Heannys O. Alvarez Reyna carefully selecting $1,574 in premium beef and lamb at a Belle Terre Crossings Publix, then driving to another Publix less than 20 minutes later to take another $2,084 worth of pork, beef cuts and personal-care items. He was arrested on a felony retail theft charge and held on a $5,000 bond along with an ICE detainer, the outlet reported.
Farther south, a Hialeah woman named Yirelys Dominguez was arrested in connection with the theft of $8,364 worth of meat and seafood from a Publix in Islamorada, in a case NBC Miami reported in November 2025, according to NBC Miami. That case was tied to a larger investigation into stolen credit cards used to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in meat and seafood at the store over multiple visits, the station reported. There is no indication the Clermont case is connected to either of these incidents.
For now, the Clermont case remains an open identification effort, with investigators relying on the public to put a name to the man seen leaving with a basket of steak that Friday late morning.
