May 24—A Decatur man accused of leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement with a 16,000 BTU residential water heater he didn’t pay for was charged with second-degree retail theft and booked into the Morgan County Jail on Thursday, according to a Decatur police statement.
Moises Gallo Jr., 42, remained in jail Friday in lieu of $30,000 bail. Second-degree retail theft is a Class C felony after changes were made to Alabama law last year.
The water heater — worth $1,169 — was removed from the business at 1641 Beltline Road SW on Feb. 10, according to the affidavit. Lowe’s reported the alleged theft to the Decatur Police Department on March 6.
The security video “captured a white male who entered the business, placed the item in a merchandise cart, and left the business with the item and without purchasing it,” the affidavit says.
Court records show Gallo was free on bond at the time of his arrest. He was accused of failing to return a rental vehicle to Enterprise Rent-A-Car in August of last year.
– david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
