Devoted Walmart Worker Ran Over Teen Shoplifter

AUGUST 10--Incensed that a high school student attempted to steal some DVDs and video games from the Texas Walmart where he worked, a store worker allegedly followed the teenager out of the store, got into his car, and slammed the vehicle into the victim, according to police

The confrontation between Lance Ferguson, a 33-year-old “cart pusher,” and Dominique Mason, 18, occurred last month at a Walmart in Houston. Ferguson was charged this week with aggravated assault, a felony, and is being held in the Harris County jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Mason, a high school senior, was confronted by Ferguson on July 10 after he “picked up a few DVDs and games and decided to put them back.”

“Why are you stealing out of my store?” Ferguson yelled. “I should whip your ass.”

After claiming to Ferguson that he was not intending to shoplift, the teenager left the store and headed home on foot. As he walked through the parking lot of a nearby business, Mason “heard a vehicle drive up behind him and then he was struck in the right side of his body.”

The teen, who rolled on top of the car’s hood and then fell to the ground, told Houston Police Department officers that Ferguson--still wearing his Walmart vest and hat--exited the red sedan and began yelling, “Don’t come back to my store. You want to steal from my store?”

Pictured at left, Mason, who was treated for back injuries at a local hospital, identified Ferguson from a photo array prepared by cops. 

When questioned by cops, Ferguson acknowledged having a confrontation with Mason inside Walmart, but denied pursuing the teen outside the store. However, store surveillance video showed that Ferguson left the parking lot in “a four door sedan vehicle and returned within ten minutes during his shift, while wearing his uniform.”

Ferguson, no longer a Walmart employee, is scheduled to be arraigned August 17 on the assault count. (2 pages)