A 70-year-old Florida man is facing felony criminal mischief charges after allegedly urinating on more than $10,000 in canned goods at a Sam’s Club in Lady Lake, Florida, then sitting peacefully on the store’s patio furniture.
Patrick Francis Mitchell, of The Villages, was arrested on May 30, 2025, at the Sam’s Club at 755 N US 27/441. According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Detective Ronnie Williams of the Lady Lake Police Department, a female customer witnessed Mitchell urinating in Aisle 18 around 9:49 a.m.
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The witness, who had taken a photograph of the defendant, immediately reported the event to store employees. Sam’s Club management reportedly reviewed CCTV footage that showed a white male, matching Mitchell’s description, entering into Aisle 18, positioning himself in front of two pallets, and engaging in ‘activity consistent with urine’ for several seconds.
Following the alleged incident, surveillance film shows Mitchell leaving Aisle 18, traveling through the snack section, and then resting on the store’s patio furniture for around ten minutes. He then went to the register, paid for his purchases, and departed the store without informing any of the personnel about the incident.
Store managers confirmed the discovery of urine on two pallets of canned goods. The infected products comprised about 188 18-count canned Vienna Sausages and 345 8-count canned Spam Classics. Because of the contamination, every item on both pallets had to be discarded.
The overall estimated worth of the damaged food is around $10,584.84, with Vienna Sausages priced at $12.48 per unit and Spam Classic priced at $23.88.
Sam’s Club management sent law enforcement Mitchell’s name, date of birth, New York address, phone number, and email address, which they collected from his membership site.
This information, combined with the witness’s photograph, was utilized to identify Patrick Francis Mitchell via database searches.
Mitchell was charged with criminal mischief (over $1,000), a felony, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. He has pled not guilty to all counts.
His case is being processed by the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Lake County.
