Police: Man walking around Walmart parking lot with hatchet arrested for stealing truck

TEXARKANA, Texas (KSLA/Gray News) - Police in Texas arrested a man who they say stole a truck and walked around a Walmart store parking lot with a hatchet in his pants.

On Oct. 7, the Texarkana Texas Police Department said they received a call for a man who was walking around the Walmart parking lot with a hatchet in the front of his pants. Police said the 25-year-old man never took the hatchet out, but did run up to people and yell unintelligible words. The man’s bizarre behavior caused concern, prompting a witness to call 911.

KSLA reports the police department received a similar call from a nearby movie theater, but the man left before they got there.

Officers encountered the man, identified as Jerry Toney, as he was getting into a black Dodge pickup truck in the Walmart parking lot. He matched the description of the suspect from the movie theater as well, police say.

After removing the hatchet and baton from his pants, which he said he needed for protection, officers learned that the truck he was getting into had been stolen out of Wood County.

Toney was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was booked into jail with a bond set at $50,000.

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