A WALMART shopper has been arrested after causing a fire in the kids section as part of an elaborate distraction technique during a jewelery heist.
Anthony J. Rhodes, of Berlin, New Jersey, was pictured in the Elkton, Maryland, store wearing a black face mask and a backpack as he allegedly carried out the diversion plan.
Moments later, he allegedly stole $10,000 worth of jewelery and fled the scene on a motorbike while the children’s section was still ablaze.
The 36-year-old was seen on security footage on April 29 around 7pm loading a shopping cart with boxes of fireworks and camping fuel which he parked in the kids area and set on fire.
Store video showed the cart ablaze with fireworks exploding inside as staff and customers ran for the exits.
It was then that police say he smashed the jewelery case, grabbed the merchandise, and left.
ALL ALONE
D4vd thrown in jail branded ‘modern medieval dungeon’ after arrest for ‘murder’
GUNNED DOWN
Teen ‘shoots dead pregnant girlfriend, 16, after he told her to kill the baby’
State fire marshals, who later helped identify Rhodes as the suspect, responded within seconds and put out the blaze.
No one was injured during the incident.
“It was estimated early that the fire caused around $5,000 in direct fire damage,” the Maryland State Fire Marshal said.
“However, the inventory lost due to smoke, soot, and subsequent remediation efforts totaled nearly $10 million, according to Walmart.”
Rhodes, who was arrested on Thursday by Berlin Township Police Department, has been hit with several charges including first-degree arson and manufacturing an explosive device.
He is currently being held in the Camden County (N.J.) Correctional Facility awaiting extradition to Maryland.
“Working side-by-side with our ATF partners and Walmart Global Investigations, our team was able to identify a suspect quickly,” acting State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray wrote in a statement after the arrest.
“Investigations such as these require an all-hands approach, and I am proud of everyone who was able to bring this case to a close.”
A Walmart spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company “appreciate[s] the partnership with law enforcement and their swift action in this investigation.”
Despite being pictured wearing a Jefferson University shirt, Rhodes is not connected to it.
