Sammie Garrett Jr., 58, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, is facing multiple theft charges following an investigation into a reported shoplifting incident at a Schererville Walmart, according to court documents.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers were dispatched on December 14, 2025, to Walmart, 1555 U.S. 41 in Schererville, in reference to an in-progress shoplifting. A store employee advised dispatch that a male was concealing items in a black backpack and had passed all points of sale before being confronted near the exit doors.
The affidavit states the male “dropped the backpack, and began to flee on foot through the parking lot,” before running northbound and entering a grey pickup truck, where he remained hidden while officers checked the area. The vehicle then left the scene, traveling westbound onto U.S. 30.
Police later reviewed surveillance images and identified the vehicle as a Ford F-150 with Illinois plates. On January 8, 2026, a BOLO alert was issued to surrounding agencies in an attempt to identify the suspect.
Later that evening, a detective from Homewood-Flossmoor Police provided images of the vehicle and a possible suspect. Investigators determined the individual to be Sammie Garrett Jr., who was “positively identified from the Walmart surveillance photos,” according to the affidavit.
On January 14, 2026, the reporting employee was presented with a six-photo lineup and “immediately picked photo #2, identifying Sammie Garrett as the suspect who fled from her.”
The affidavit states the total value of the items involved in the incident was $117.90.
A criminal history check revealed Garrett has a prior theft conviction in Cook County, Illinois, and had recently pleaded guilty in Lake County, Indiana, on a separate theft charge on December 17, 2025.
Lodged in the Lake County Jail on April 13,2026.
Charges filed February 4,2026:
• Theft – prior conviction for either theft or conversion (Level 6 Felony)
• Theft (Class A Misdemeanor)
