A man suspected of shoplifting at a Ruston store was booked on numerous charges Friday.
Ruston Police responded to Walmart Supercenter about 8:30 p.m. Friday regarding the report of a shoplifter. Police were told John Messburger, 53, of Gibsland, had removed bar codes from potatoes and placed them on other merchandise. The three items involved were valued and $81.37 but with the potato barcodes rang up for only $4.74.
Messburger has been banned from the Walmart Supercenter since May 24, 2020, due to previous incidents.
A records check show Messburger was wanted on warrants in Bossier Parish and Claiborne Parish. The nature of those charges was not immediately available. Messburger was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for theft by shoplifting, criminal trespass, and the two warrants. Bail was set at $27,000.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
