A Florida man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a Walgreens store manager with a Bible on Easter Sunday.
Peter Owens, 35, was arrested and charged with a felony after an incident at a Walgreens store in Clearwater Beach on March 31, according to an arrest affidavit from the Clearwater Police Department.
According to the affidavit, Owens entered the Walgreens store shortly after 11:30 p.m. to purchase headphones and got into an argument with the store employee over the item.
The argument further escalated when the employee involved the store manager.
After asking her to leave the store, Owens allegedly hit her in the face with a Bible.
Officials also said this was not Owens’ first violation of the law. He has one previous conviction for battery, for which he was convicted in March 2020, according to his affidavit.
Police were able to find Mr. Owens a short time later and take him into custody.
The man told police he hit the store manager with a Bible because “she was being rude to him,” the affidavit said, adding that he “didn’t mean to hit her.”
Owens was released from the Pinellas County Jail the next day after posting $5,000 bail.
But Owens’ criminal activities didn’t stop there.
Less than 24 hours after his release, Owens was arrested again.
According to a Tarpon Springs Police Department affidavit, Owens allegedly stole men’s shoes and a box of Cheez-Its from Walmart.
The affidavit states that Owens grabbed a snack and took it into the bathroom, then picked a shoe from a shelf and removed the tag.
He then allegedly tried on the shoes before shoving them into a duffel bag.
Owens was stopped by a loss prevention officer for leaving the store without paying.
Police were called, and Owens was arrested again and transported to the Pinellas County Jail. As of Wednesday afternoon, he was being held on $150 bail, according to jail records.
