A Charlotte police officer stole food from a Harris Teeter grocery store on multiple occasions.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Officer Samuel Yaravitz, 43, was arrested on Thursday after he was identified as a suspect in seven shoplifting cases which occurred between February 13th and May 9th of 2018.
Officer Yaravitz makes $71,446.34 a year, so it is unclear why he resorted to stealing when he obviously makes enough money to purchase food the legal way.
Police say that they received information that Officer Yaravitz was shoplifting at Harris Teeter. Upon receiving the aforementioned information police immediately launched a criminal and internal investigation.
All of the incidents occurred at the Harris Teeter, located at 6701 Morrison Blvd. Charlotte, NC. Officer Yaravitz was arrested and charged with seven counts of larceny. Officer Yaravitz is a patrol officer and he drove his patrol vehicle to Harris Teeter when he shoplifted. Yaravitz was hired by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department on June 23, 1999.
Chief Kerr Putney released this statement:
“We are charged with upholding and enforcing the law and will continue to hold ourselves accountable when we violate it. I am disappointed that a member of our department has fallen short of our organization’s high standards.”
In a press conference Chief Putney noted that there was enough evidence to arrest Yaravitz, although the Chief did not elaborate on the evidence. Yaravitz has been suspended without pay.
