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Viral Walmart ‘thief’ hits back as he claims he stole groceries

A Walmart customer was accused of theft after a viral video showed him packing numerous items into his bag without scanning them at the self-checkout line, but he has now fought back against those charges.

Bill Astle faced heavy criticism after a customer at the Green Mount Commons Walmart in Belleville, Illinois filmed him filling his shopping cart with groceries, apparently without paying for them.

“This man literally steals everything,” a woman behind the camera said in a short clip. “He doesn't scan anything. So be open about it, look at the screen, nothing rings a bell.”

The 14-second video was posted on various social media platforms and reached over 15.6 million views on Twitter/X. Many commentators harshly criticized the man and accused him of theft.

“This is why Walmart is getting rid of self-checkouts. This idea is a huge failure for them. Thefts are through the roof,” said one. “This is why the rest of us have to spend a fortune on the little things,” wrote another.

But Astle, who admitted working for Spark, Walmart's delivery service, insists he is innocent and was just doing his job. “I'm not a thief. I'm portrayed and portrayed as a thief on the internet,” he told First Alert 4.

He shared that as a Walmart employee, he can scan products on his phone right when he picks them up. “Everything is done over the phone, so when we go to the checkout, we don't actually scan a single item,” Astle told the outlet.

When a Spark shopper reaches the register, he explained, they must scan their phone on the self-service checkout machine and then bag the items. By scanning the products on the phone, there is no need to scan again at the register.

Astle is now trying to clear his name as more and more people approach him while shopping and ask if he is a thief. “Customers have asked me, 'Hey, didn't I see you online? Haven't you been stealing things?' And then I have to explain to people what I do,” Astle said.

“If they had let the video run for another 30 seconds, they would have seen that by the time I finished the Spark delivery, I had scanned two dozen roses.”

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