An off-duty officer arrested a St. Joseph man accused of stealing from Walmart earlier this week.

Walter Warren Lomax Jr., 37 of St. Joseph is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of Stealing – 4th or subsequent stealing offense within 10 years.

According to court document, Lomax had previously been banned from Walmart for stealing. However, on Tuesday he is accused of entering North Belt Walmart and taking items from the store.

“He was stopped outside the store by loss prevention. They recovered some of the stolen property and photographed him before he fled on foot,” said Det. Chase Cotter with the St. Joseph Police Department. “An off-duty police officer in the area observed the defendant fleeing and detained him behind IHOP.”

Cotter said Lomax had an active warrant for failing to appear in court at the time of his arrest.

“He has 10 prior stealing related convictions, 3 of which have occurred within the past 10 years. He has convictions for burglary (x7), non support (x4), DWR, possession of a controlled substance, theft, felony theft and stealing,” Cotter said.

Lomax is being held on $10,000 bail. He’s due in court Friday for an arraignment.