Walmart manager hops into pickup truck to stop suspected beer thieves

The manager of a Walmart in Florida took a wild ride down Interstate 95 in the back of a pickup truck on Monday after he tried to stop two people he suspected of stealing beer from the Titusville store.

Manager Mike Dawson saw a man and woman leaving the Walmart with a shopping cart filled with beer and asked them for a receipt because he suspected they were shoplifting.

They made a beeline for their truck and Dawson made a snap decision.

"I had asked them for a receipt and they kept throwing beers into their car," said Dawson. "I ran up to get their license plate, but when I realized how close I was, I jumped in the back so they didn't run me over.”

As the truck cruised at high speeds down I-95, Dawson tried to fend off the suspects and attract attention to the fleeing beer-mobile.

"One time they tried to beat me up and I lost my glasses. The second time was in the back woods somewhere, I was like, 'I'm not getting out for you to run me over,'" said Dawson. "I kept throwing beers from the back of the truck, not at people's cars but towards people's cars, hoping that someone would call the police.”

Dave Stewart noticed what was happening and caught up with the truck on a side road in the Canaveral Groves area.

"Well, I just saw all the beers alongside the road," said Stewart, who was armed with a gun. "The gentleman in the back got out, and as soon as he did, the other guy jumps into the pickup truck and just leaves.”

Police are still looking for the couple and believe they might be the same people suspected of recently stealing beer from a Palm Bay Walmart.

[WFTV]