Theft suspect wore fake badge while stealing $50K worth of merchandise, deputies say

Man accused of stealing from several stores

Callvester Smith (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County deputies say a suspect in multiple retail thefts at stores in seven counties wore a fake badge or law enforcement uniform while stealing merchandise.

Authorities called 47-year-old Callvester Smith of Orlando a “prolific retail theft suspect” who stole $50,000 worth of items from Home Depot and Lowe’s stores across the region during a three-month period.

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According to a news release, four of the thefts occurred in Volusia County, where detectives Bill Weaver and Robert McCabe were able to identify Smith as a suspect based on surveillance images. Those same images showed Smith with a badge hung on a lanyard around his neck and a gun in a holster on his waist, authorities said.

Records show he was arrested Tuesday by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at his apartment in Orlando on charges of felony retail theft and falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer during the commission of a felony.

Additional charges from other jurisdictions are pending against him.

“Smith has a significant criminal history that includes 41 felony charges and 20 convictions – including armed burglary, armed robbery, aggravated battery on a person 65 or older and resisting an officer with violence – with nine state prison sentences and two escapes,” deputies wrote in a news release.


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