Publix employee was pepper-sprayed, robbed in Fort Myers grocery store

Fort Myers police officers are searching for a woman accused of walking out of a Publix without paying and then attacking the employee who confronted her.

It happened at the Publix on Summerlin Road and Colonial Boulevard on Sunday morning, and it has customers talking.

Shopper Jim Watts said, “It’s always calm. Nothing exciting going on.” And he would know: Shopping is his pleasure. “At least in a week? Four or five times,” added Watts.

Four or five times a week he shops not only for himself, but also for his job as an Instacart shopper.
Watts is pretty familiar with the people coming and going around here. “It’s got a little bit of an older client base. So, here, what happened is, kind of a little shocking,” he stated.

Fort Myers Police told WINK News reporter Gail Levy an employee noticed a woman filling up a cart and walking out without paying. That’s when the employee followed the suspect out, got the cart back and then got attacked.

Bobbie Stradley reacted to the incident and said, “It’s just bad. People don’t care. They just don’t care.”

Police said the suspect assaulted the worker with pepper spray and then stole the victim’s phone right out of her back pocket. She drove off in what officers believe is a 2000 to 2006 Silver Isuzu SUV.

FMPD wants her caught, and so do shoppers like Bobbie Stradley.

“It puts the workers in danger, so it’s not good,” Stradley said.

If you recognize the woman, call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.