Vladimir Putin Arrested In Florida Publix Supermarket


Vladimir Putin arrested in Florida?

A man who police identified as Vladimir Putin has a court date after allegedly making a scene at a Publix supermarket in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The allegedly surly shopper was released from Palm Beach county jail this morning following his arrest on August 21. He has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges and is due back in court on September 26. The suspect will also be required to undergo a judge-ordered mental health assessment, according to the Smoking Gun.

In the incident, Publix — whose slogan is “shopping is a pleasure” — called the cops after an apparently displeased Putin, 48, allegedly started yelling at supermarket employees and refusing to exit the premises when asked by the store manager.

“City police, too, told the man to leave. Putin, who did not give police a home address, refused, saying he had missed his ride. Police charged Putin with trespassing after warning and resisting without violence. Police originally listed him as a John Doe because he refused to give any personal information. A police report lists him as having the same name as the Russian president,” the Palm Beach Post explained.

“International relations between the U.S. and Russia could get dicey after a man named Vladimir Putin was arrested at a South Florida grocery store. But before we move to DEFCON 1, the man charged with trespassing and resisting arrest only shares the same name as the Russian president… Meanwhile, it’s not known if the Russian president who also carries the Putin name also does his own shopping,” WKMG News6 in Orlando quipped about the Publix Putin pinch.

Whether or not you can chalk it up to only in Florida, Publix, which operates about 1,000 grocery stores throughout the south, with most of them in the Sunshine State, has seen its share of other unusual activities, although they may be rare occurrences in the big picture.

For example, about a year ago, a brawl broke out involving customers and employees at the deli counter of a Tampa-area Publix supermarket, with a bystander to the chaotic scene recording the encounter on cell phone video. Apparently the “beef,” as it were, got started over an order of chicken wings gone wrong.

According to the customer who filmed the scuffle at the Publix in Temple Terrace, Florida, “It all started over an order of chicken wings and a rude customer … Then, shoppers began shouting, fists went flying, and it turned into a deli disaster,” WFLA reported at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YQgM6wFvk

Last July, things got hot near the cold cuts counter when two men got into a physical altercation in the Publix deli aisle. The deli aisle brawl occurred in Baldwin Park, Florida, and was captured on cell phone video, the original version of which went viral with more than one million views. The altercation at the Orlando-area supermarket reportedly had its source outside the store when one of the men accused a pregnant woman of leaving a shopping cart in the middle of a parking space after unloading her groceries, thereby preventing him from pulling into the spot. She subsequently called her husband on her cell phone, who apparently confronted the man in the deli aisle. They wound up grappling and then landing haymakers on each other.

“If you were wondering, Russian President Vladimir Putin is 63 and grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia (not Florida),” NBC West Palm Beach affiliate WPTV pointed out in response to Publix arrest in downtown West Palm Beach.

Do you think that it will turn out after authorities look into the matter further that the real name of the suspect in the Publix trespassing incident may be something other than Vladimir Putin?

[Photo by Scott Iskowitz/AP Images]

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