Walmart loss prevention stops man with 45 Florida convictions for $300 theft

Bruce Keith Wilmer, 67, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning following an alleged $300.97 theft from a Walmart in Gainesville. The incident involved 25 items, including ribeye steaks, snow crabs, ribs, and beer, which the store values at just over three hundred dollars.

A Gainesville Police Department officer recorded that Wilmer entered the store with his own plastic bags at 9:27 a.m. on October 28. He selected the merchandise and walked past every checkout register without paying. A Walmart Loss Prevention Officer stopped him just before the exit doors.

Wilmer, who lists GRACE Marketplace as his address, told the responding officer he is an alcoholic. He added that he had been released from state custody about one month prior. During that prior stay, he noted he was housed in a facility designed to help him treat his alcoholism.

The arrest report details a long legal history for the suspect. Florida records show 45 convictions, split between 19 non-violent felonies and 26 non-violent misdemeanors. Wilmer has served eight state prison sentences, with the most recent release date recorded as September 14, 2026. Court documents also note an unspecified criminal history in Maryland between 1986 and 1990.

Prosecutors have charged Wilmer with felony petit theft, a designation applied to third or subsequent offenses. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $20,000. The charges are currently accusations based on law enforcement reports, and Wilmer is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.