Man accused of stealing $900 worth of meat from 2 local Publix stores

Published: Updated:
Meat
CREDIT: LCSO

A 26-year-old man is going to meet the jail cell after being caught red-handed pulling provisions.

In June 2024, Steve Pedroso went on an all-you-can-steal buffet three times at two local Publix stores, taking nearly $900 in cold cuts.

His menu included beef ribs, ribeye steaks, beef and steak tenderloins, and other various items.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Pedroso pulled the sirloin stunt twice at a Publix in Fort Myers and once in Cape Coral.

Security cameras caught him in the act as he slipped the pricy slabs into his basket.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office detectives got a break in the case when a store employee wrote down part of Pedroso’s license plate number.

“LCSO detectives worked for months to identify, locate, and arrest this meat-head bandit,” said Sheriff Marceno. “We didn’t want to ‘meat’ this way, Steve, but make no ‘mis-steak’ stealing of any kind in Lee County will not be tolerated.”

Paying customers Ray Yule and his wife Liz couldn’t believe the footage when they saw it.

“You think he knew he was on camera and didn’t care?” said Liz. “It’s hard to fathom what you showed me.”

Other shoppers wanted to see some action taken.

“When I was a kid, I was working at a grocery store. I remember when someone tried to walk out like that,” said customer Brent Gentner. “They would tackle them.”

“If this was up in Jersey somebody would have tackled him!” said customer Diane Costello.

Pedroso was arrested for his outstanding warrant on Dec. 29. He is charged with felony retail theft.

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