A Brevard County man is now facing armed robbery charges in the theft of a TV from a Walmart. It was caught on tape.
The surveillance video is from the Walmart store on Palm Bay Road. The video shows a man with a firm grasp on a big screen TV box. On the other end is an employee holding on tight, trying to keep him from taking it outside the store.
"He put a few items into his shopping cart, and then pushed them towards self-checkout. When he passed all points of sale, that's when the employee saw this," said Detective Antonio Romano of the West Melbourne Police Dept.
Police said the employee tried to stop Douglas Braham, 24, and asked him about having a receipt for the TV. Police said he didn't answer, so she asked again.
"He took the TV and started running out of the store," said Romano.
But the employee wasn't going to let Braham get away. She grabbed the other end of the box, and the struggle ensued, with Braham making slow headway towards the door. Once they crossed the threshold, the video shows the suspect saying something to the employee.
"That's when he told her 'let go of the TV or I'll take my knife out and stab you'," Romano said.
Braham got away in a waiting getaway car.
Police don't encourage actions like this, but they commend the woman for trying to stop a crime in progress.
"It's good that she let go, because we don't know what he would have done after that," said Romano.
Detectives say Braham was arrested this week while in the Brevard County Jail. He was picked up on a grand theft auto charge but is now facing armed robbery charges for threatening the employee in this case.
Detectives are still looking for the suspected getaway driver, 38-year-old Michael Parsons.
Michael Parsons is believed to be the getaway driver in the theft of a TV at Walmart. West Melbourne police are still looking for him.