Walmart CUSTOMER Kills Black Teen For Shoplifting, Wont Be Charged

ORLANDO, Fla. —

A 51-year-old Walmart customer who shot and killed a suspected diaper thief at a Pine Hills Walmart has been charged in the shooting, deputies said.

Lonnie Leonard was arrested on charges of manslaughter, aggravated battery and carrying a concealed weapon Wednesday night.

Adams' brother, Jeffrey Edwards, said the manslaughter charges filed against Leonard is not enough.

“I think he should be charged with murder, not manslaughter, for one. And to have a bond? I don't think he should have a bond,” Edwards said.

Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office recommended that Leonard be charged in connection with the Feb. 4 shooting. The State Attorney’s office issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday.

Arthur Adams, 19, died after being shot by Leonard in the store parking lot.

According to the sheriff's office, Adams was a documented gang member who was wanted on two arrest warrants.

Investigators said Adams and another man were stealing two carts of diapers when a store employee confronted them in the parking lot.

Leonard noticed what was happening and got involved.

Leonard told authorities that Adams reached for something, which made him feel threatened. Leonard then pulled out a gun and fired several shots, according to authorities.

Witnesses contradicted Leonard's story and said they did not see the teen reach for anything.

Adams was shot, and so was a teenage girl who was with the suspected thieves.

Adams made it to the gas station across the street where he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead. The girl who was shot survived her injuries.

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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - An Orange County man accused of gunning down a 19-year-old diaper thief at an Orlando Walmart in February is out on bond, and one of the conditions of his release is he live at his sister’s home.

Lonnie Leonard’s neighbors, though, said he’s been living at his own residence since his release in September.

Leonard is charged with manslaughter and aggravated battery in the death of Arthur Adams, who was fleeing from Walmart employees at the store on Clarcona Ocoee Road.

He was initially being held on a $100,000 bond, but it was reduced to just over $25,000 in July.

Norman Mooney, who lives in the neighborhood where Leonard lived before his arrest, said the man immediately came home after his release.

“As soon as he came out (of jail), he pulled right up with his truck and his dogs, and (went) right back into the house,” Mooney said.

Mooney wrote a letter to the judge in Leonard’s case, complaining that he was violating the conditions of his release.

Leonard had been a nuisance in the neighborhood, but it was peaceful while he was locked up, Mooney said.

When Channel 9 went to the neighborhood, reporter Jeff Deal found him at the house.

Leonard declined to comment when he was confronted about whether he was living there.

“I don’t want to talk about my case,” he said.

Leonard's sister, Pam Fleming, insisted that her brother was at the home visiting his girlfriend.

“For them saying he lives here, he don’t,” she said. “You know, he lives with me.”

Numerous residents in the neighborhood, though, said Leonard has been living at the home -- not with his sister -- since his release.

Prosecutors have asked the judge in Leonard’s case to revoke his pre-trial release and send him back to jail.

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