At about 4:09 a.m. East Ridge police arrived at Walgreens Pharmacy at 5301 Ringgold Road in response to a reported incident of shoplifting.
The night manager advised he had seen a black male wearing a blue dress leave the store with a shopping basket full of merchandise that had not been purchased. The manager followed the suspect until he lost track of him in the area of McBrien Road and Marion Avenue.
A red PT Cruiser was reported to have picked up a pedestrian in the area where the suspect was last seen. Police canvassed the area and located the vehicle at the intersection of North Terrace and Moore Road. Police stopped the vehicle, and the passenger matched the description of the suspect.
Police also observed a Walgreens shopping basket containing the stolen merchandise in the vehicle. The suspect was identified as William Patillo, 41, and admitted to stealing the items from the Walgreens Pharmacy, police said.
The stolen items were returned to Walgreens, and William Patillo was charged with Theft Under $500. East Ridge Police Department is cooperating with Red Bank Police Department concerning possible connections between this incident and recent similar incidents in their jurisdiction.