Shoplifting arrest leads to discovery of 37 pounds of marijuana

While he was being arrested for shoplifting at Walmart, Markus Rashad Tull, 28, Social Circle, asked officers if they would let him keep the items he had, in fact, paid for, before he was taken to jail.

The police agreed and Tull directed the officers to his vehicle with the items he could prove he had purchased while he was handcuffed in the back seat of a police patrol car.

An officer, using Tull’s key fob, popped open the trunk to place the items for safe keeping and the shoplifting charges became an afterthought.

Inside the trunk, reports state, officers allegedly found more than 37 pounds of suspected marijuana, Psilocybin mushrooms and THC pens. Inside the 2021 Toyota Camry, reports state, officers allegedly found suspected Ecstasy pills in the center console, three phones and an iPad. Inside the bags with the suspected Ecstasy was a white powder that has not been identified. Officers did not open the bag for safety reasons, reports state.

Along with shoplifting, Tull is also charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to traffic, possession of drug paraphernalia or objects, trafficking in marijuana and two counts illegal possession of controlled substance.

According to Madison Police Department reports, Officers Blake Rowe and Tyler Finch were called to Walmart, Eatonton Road at 4:43 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 regarding a man allegedly “skip scanning” items at the self checkout area.

A Walmart protection officer told officers that Tull had “skip scanned” 24 items, effectively passing the items over the self-checkout counter without the counter recording the cost of the item. Officers reviewed video surveillance and confirmed, reports state, that Tull had not paid for several items totaling approximately $165.

Officers Rowe and Finch then arrested Tull as he left the store. Tull, reports state, asked the officers to allow him to retain the items he paid for and the officers agreed. He also asked them to wait until his parents came to the store from Social Circle so he could give them his items. The officers, reports state, told Tull they could not wait on the parents but would place the items in Tull’s vehicle and Tull allegedly agreed.

An officer, reports state, used Tull’s key fob to locate his vehicle and popped the trunk to place the items out of public view.

When the trunk opened, reports state, Officer Rowe “got a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.”

Tull allegedly told the officers to place the items on the back seat and not the trunk because he allegedly had luggage in the trunk. Rowe observed four packs of six half gallon Mason jars near a large red bag and a black duffle bag. Inside the red bag, reports state, were vacuum sealed bags of suspected marijuana. The black duffle also contained vacuum sealed bags of suspected marijuana, reports state. A second red bag with a draw string contained a small bag of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms. Another jar of suspected marijuana was also located in the truck along with four suspected THC vape pens.

According to Assistant Chief of Police Colin Campbell, the arrest and confiscation of the suspected marijuana marks one of the biggest drug busts in the department’s history.

“During a shoplifting arrest you don’t expect to find 37 pounds of marijuana in a car,” Campbell said.

“They (officers Rowe and Finch) were nice enough to allow the guy to put his stuff in the car and then they realized there was something else going on.”

During the search of the vehicle, reports state, Tull’s parents arrived and “began to create a scene inside Walmart.” Officers spoke with the parents and advised them of the charges and the parents allegedly demanded to be allowed to view the video evidence of the alleged shoplifting.

The officers denied the parents’ requests but allowed them to take possession of the vehicle. Reports state that during a final search of the vehicle, a second bag of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms was located in the passenger area of the vehicle.