A Texarkana man who failed to show for his own jury trial at the Bowie County courthouse in May was arrested Sunday at Texas Roadhouse in Texarkana, Texas.
Demontrous O’Keith Witcher, 31, was dressed as a woman but a member of the public recognized him and tipped off police. A warrant for Witcher’s arrest has been active since he failed to appear in court May 9 for jury selection in a shoplifting case before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
Witcher was taken into custody by members of the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department at the restaurant. Witcher attempted to run but a man and his pregnant companion got in his way. Officials with the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office said Witcher is now facing numerous charges in Bowie County including multiple thefts, bail jumping and failure to appear, and could face a new charge for running from police Sunday.
Witcher was scheduled to be tried in May for allegedly shoplifting costly perfume Feb. 22, 2016, from Ulta Beauty in Texarkana, Texas, according to a probable cause affidavit. Store pesonnel became suspicious of two women and began watching them on surveillance cameras in the fragance area. The store manager allegedly watched as the women stuffed their purses with $1,162 in perfume and left the store without making any effort to pay.
A week after the theft, the store manager contacted police and told them someone had given one of the suspects a name after seeing a photo from the surveillance footage on TXK Today’s Facebook page. The name given to the manager was Witcher’s and investigators confirmed the connection after comparing the surveillance photo to Witcher’s mugshot.
Witcher was allegedly meeting with detectives in reference to another case March 3, 2016, when Witcher brought up the subject of the Ulta Beauty alleged shoplifting. Witcher told the detectives his picture had been put on Facebook by Ulta Beauty and that he was planning to sue the store for defamation because he had not stolen anything.
According to the affidavit, “Witcher confirmed he was the suspect by his statement. However he was clearly seen on video taking perfumes.”
Witcher is being held without bail in the Bowie County jail. He is scheduled to appear Dec. 18 before Tidwell for a pretrial hearing.
