Attempted Car Theft at Whole Foods Marlboro

An Old Bridge man was arrested Monday for stealing the car keys of an employee at the Marlboro Whole Foods — but not just any employee. The vehicle belonged to the store president, sources tell Patch.

Eugene Richmond, 47, allegedly went behind the customer service counter in the store and helped himself to a set of keys kept on a shelf near the printer. A Whole Foods employee told Patch that store employees commonly keep their car keys on this shelf.

Richmond used the keys to open a black 2012 Volkswagen GTI parked in the store parking lot, authorities said. A Whole Foods employee confirmed the car belonged to the store president.

When the store president realized the theft and went into the parking lot, she found Richmond sitting in the driver’s seat, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The police were called and Richmond was charged with theft and burglary, the prosecutor’s office said.

The store was closed at the time.