Crime & Safety

WATCH: Lakeland Store Owner Shoots Man Who Reportedly Stole Beer

The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting of a man who reportedly stole three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer.

LAKELAND, FL -- The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting of a man who reportedly stole three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer from the Shell gas station convenience store at 125 Combee Road N., Lakeland.

The shooting took place at about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, July 17 in the store parking lot.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the man who was shot, 43-year-old Rennie Defoe Jr. of Plant City, entered the store, walked to the beer cooler, picked up three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer valued at about $36 and walked out of the store without paying.

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Mehedeun Hasan, 22, of Lakeland, the co-owner of the business with his father, 61-year-old Q M Monsur Rahman of Lakeland, picked up a 9mm handgun from the store office and ran after Defoe to confront him about the theft.

Defoe reportedly tossed the stolen beer into his 2005 white Toyota Camry and then got into the car.

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Hasan caught up with Defoe, pointed the gun at him while he was in the driver's seat and shot Defoe as he was backing up to leave.

Defoe drove off and then crashed his car at the intersection of East Main Street and Fish Hatchery Road, Lakeland.

He was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center for wounds from a single gunshot to his left arm and chest. Defoe is listed in critical condition.

Hasan was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and attempted second-degree murder. Hasan has no prior criminal history.

Defoe has 12 prior felony charges and nine prior misdemeanor charges including robbery, firing a missile into a dwelling, two counts of domestic battery, grand larceny, grand theft, petit theft, resisting arrest, distribution of cocaine within 100 feet of a school, manufacturing marijuana, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to appear in court.

Defoe has been sentenced to Florida State Prison four times, and was most recently released from prison on June 12.

Surveillance video from convenience store

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.