Anthony Zaksewicz, a 45-year-old resident of Lema Lane in Palm Coast and a veteran history teacher at Matanzas High School honored last year with a state award, was arrested on felony charges in connection with an alleged thieving scheme at Walmart that stretched over six months and aggregated thefts of nearly $3,200. Zaksewicz has taught in Flagler schools for 17 years.
According to his arrest report, Walmart reported the alleged thefts to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in mid-October, by which time the store’s asset protection investigator had concluded that Zaksewicz had chronically used ticket-switching and skip-scanning methods in innumerable transactions involving hundreds of items from May 13 through Oct. 1.
The transactions were conducted at self-checkout scanning machines. Ticket-switching is the use of an inexpensive item’s bar code to undercharge merchandise being scanned. Sip-scanning is the act of appearing to scan an item when the item’s barcode is intentionally kept from registering. The sheriff’s deputy initially working the case found it to be too extensive for him to complete while still working road patrol, so he turned it over to Sheriff’s detective Joe Costello, who documented the progression of the alleged thefts.
Almost all the instances took place in summer or on weekends, once school resumed on Aug. 10. “As is evidenced in Walmart video, [Zaksewicz] uses a bar code of a very inexpensive item cups in his hand and uses it to scan much more expensive items to commit this theft as well as other methods, skip scanning and missed weight reads on produce items,” Costello reported. The store’s investigator, Jacqulyn Medina, “was extremely thorough during her investigation of these thefts, providing all documentation and video evidence to show this on-going and systematic course of action could not be conceived as a mistake, but quite purposeful to commit theft.”
Costello informed Zaksewicz of the investigation and pending charges on Oct. 16. “Zaksewicz inquired if he could contact Walmart and arrange to make financial restitution to them in lieu of prosecution,” Costello reported. “I informed Zaksewicz I could not get involved in any civil litigation and was there to serve him with a trespass warning.” Soon afterward, Zaksewicz contacted Walmart to say he’d made a mistake, and asked if he could make restitutions, “to which Medina responded that Walmart desires to prosecute for all crimes committed.”
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins signed a warrant for Zaksewicz’s arrest on Tuesday, the same day Zaksewicz turned himself in at the county jail, where he was booked. He posted bail on $5,000 and was released hours later.
Zaksewicz on his arrest report was listed as facing four third-degree felonies, three of them for aggregate thefts exceeding $750 each, and an additional third degree felony charge of unlawfully possessing or using an inventory control device. His jail booking, however, lists one third-degree felony charge of grand theft.
A third degree felony is punishable by up to five years in prison. Assuming a plea is tendered, a first-time offender typically will face probation rather than jail or prison time, especially with restitution in play, and adjudication may be withheld, in essence sparing the defendant from being branded a felon. Avoiding adjudication in this case would be key, since teachers are disqualified from holding a job with a school district once they are adjudicated guilty of certain felonies, among them theft exceeding $3,000.
Teachers with misdemeanors are allowed to keep working. The district had not responded to a request for information on Zaksewicz’s current status before this article initially published. On Dec. 7, the district said he was placed on paid administrative leave as of Dec. 7.
Last October Zaksewicz received the 2022 Florida Council Social Studies Harry T. Moore Teaching for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Award, a statewide honor intended to “recognize and celebrate a Florida teacher who encourages an appreciation and respect for civil rights and civil liberties.” (The award is named for Harry and Harriette Moore, who had founded the NAACP chapter in Brevard County and where they were both teachers. They were murdered by the KKK, which bombed their home in 1951, on their 25th anniversary.)
The Flagler County School Board recognized Zaksewicz after he received the award last year. “He has spent countless hours in his classroom impacting the lives of students, stretching their thinking and empowering them to become active citizens who will positively impact the world,” a colleague said of him, while another wrote: “He gives a voice and makes room for all underrepresented groups in our collective history. He allows students to explore the expansion of civil rights and civil liberties over time, while encouraging students to explore parts of history that speak to them.”
In 2020 he and his family were at the center of a pre-season tribute by school softball teams as Zaksewicz’s eldest son was undergoing treatment for leukemia, on whose behalf a fundraiser had been organized.
Fed up W/ Wallyworld says
Glad I read this article! Ive been tempted LOL and Often wondered (Since we customers seem to be the employees now in addition to rampant “Shrinkflation”, light boxes of cereal/air and $9 dollar jars of Mayo!) how would the point of sale machine know if I were scanning a .49 cent banana or a $5 piece of exotic fruit, when they make you scroll through screens to identify the produce as nobody puts a label on it we just weigh it and ID it… What I have to be a horticulture AND an IT expert to shop here! But a guy with a kid w/ Leukemia on a teachers salary thats rough I hate self checkout revolution myself but that was wrong, hope he gets to keep his job. And I also hate the new line you have to wait in just to leave the store after they check your receipt, I tell that clerk why don’t you fire up one of those dozen empty registers instead of making me wait 20 minutes to Self Checkout, and then now this line, I am not wearing a name tag I don’t work here!!!
Sticky Fingers says
Well…WALLY WORLD was fed up with TONY STEALING! Your trying to change the whole narrative of the article and blaming Wal Mart for check out policies, cereal prices, long lines, etc…..This was over a six month period…..numerous thefts on different occasions from this man. He was guising his scans with a low end item (maybe pack of gum or chap stick) and pretending that he was scanning the actual item. This was very calculated and well thought out on his part. It’s down right sinister in my opinion….sorry about his child but it does not give one a license to steal. I think you need to go back and read the well written factual article again. He offered to pay them back 750.00 to not prosecute him…..geez
H says
3K over 6 months? Big deal. Make sure those wally heirs keep making their 30+ millions yearly bonuses. Dont give them BS about shrinkage raises the prices for everyone. Take a look at CEO salary’s per year vs the average worker over the last 30 years. They’ve risen by 300%. He has done more good than bad for the community.
Marc Crane says
If you’ve used the Walmart self service stations you can s e this non scanning happen a lot. I’ve complained that they do a poor job of monitoring .I’ve also suggested limiting the number of items as this just makes it easier for them to steal. You’ll see full carts in what should be a limited item area.
Flamingo Gary says
Felony conviction means bye bye to his state pension. Hope it was worth it…
Ric Flair says
What a shining example this guy is to the children at Matanzas. Before anyone says that he hasnt been convicted yet, read above where he wanted to pay Walmart back to avoid charges. This guy knows what he was doing and his only remorse is that he got caught. The Harry Moore award includes a cash prize…..I guess he didnt want to use it at Walmart. This guy needs to be TERMINATED by the school district immediately.
Derrick Redder says
How many times/ other places has he gotten away with this should be the first then second question asked is why?
Laurel says
DR: To answer the second question: corporate profits.
Concerned Citizen says
‘Walmart desires to prosecute all theft”
Back that comment up to Feb 2022. No Victor. We haven’t forgotten.
Didn’t Victor Barbosa steal also? And it was “over looked” with only a trespass? Interesting how a politician can influence things.
Barbosa, 42, was briefly taken into “custody” at Walmart, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s report, but was not charged with shoplifting. It is Walmart’s policy not to seek prosecution of individuals for shoplifted values below $25. But the store does trespass those individuals. A quote from the Flagler Live article back in Feb 2022.
Now you may come at me with the amount involved. But theft is theft. Don’t sit here and tell me that you want to be law and order. Then be selective about it.
Shark says
Now he can get an award for thief of the year. Wonder what he has stolen from the school ??
Randy Bentwick says
Maybe Walmart should get rid of the self checkout lines and hire enough cashiers to do the job – they can afford it.
And maybe we should be paying our teachers enough so they don’t have to steal.
Dennis C Rathsam says
First a councilman, now a teacher, then a few days ago a woman pulls a gun on a Walmart customer over a parking space????? How did all these crazy people find Palm Coast? Things are getting worse not better. We are wittnessing the decline in humanity….God help us all!
James m Kelley says
totally Agree
Sticky Fingers says
If he steals from Wal Mart….he’s stealing from his school and students. Obviously, not an isolated incident as it went on for months and months. Hats off to investigation team and Wal Mart for not letting this “great teacher” off the hook cuz he’s a crook!
Patricia Losos says
I read this article and was disheartened when Mr. Zaksewicz’s son’s ongoing leukemia struggle was added as an afterthought. Even worse, the nasty, mostly negative comments reinforce the growing ignorance of Floridians. This isn’t a man who is getting rich from shoplifting at Walmart. Why would a commenter write “bye bye to his state pension” and other disparaging remarks by others? Why would someone write that this man is stealing at other stores. They are moral midgets hiding behind anonymity. How many would survive on a teacher’s salary? These commenters clearly are happy that 1) they have never shoplifted, or 2) they have never been caught. But they’re obviously superior beings. And they’re probably church-going Christians. So why not act like it?
CELIA PUGLIESE says
A totally agree with you and Compassionate below. Hope our courts do justice and helps preserve this teacher’s job and retirement for the sake of his innocent children, one battling cancer as reported. Is very hard to sustain on a 17 years teacher’s pay and family of 6 nowadays…maybe the very expensive sickness of one child of the four and the sustain of his family have driven this teacher to mental issues of not recognizing the consequences of his actions. I can’t really believe he was in control of his decisions. So lets the courts assess the extreme implications that drove this man to shoplift, please.
Atbp says
Regardless if this guy gets a felony conviction he must be fired. This guy has been a teacher for 17 years and he has to be making upwards of 60k a year. Yet that’s not enough for him and he has to steal from a store in our community? What message will this tell our youth if this thief is allowed to keep his job?
Compassionate says
I agree this does send an awful message to our youth. While as the article says, he has been a teacher for 17 years. As you say he likely makes upward of 60k a year, do you think that’s enough to take care of 4 children one who has received chemo and radiation for 2.5 years, who was being brought back and forth for treatment 3-5 days a week by a mother who had to leave her job because there was no way to do both, or the days and weeks he was in the hospital because of complications or surgeries, or a grandmother who lived with him and relied on him and his wife for her care, or the fact that because of the cancer treatment his son was getting he no longer was eating so he had a feeding tube on more than one occasion, or the wheelchair that was now needed because the son couldn’t bear his own weight, or the other child who has sever epilepsy and was also back and forth to the speciality doctor, or the house payment, the two cars because it wasn’t working with one because it was needed to go to Chemo and needed space for a wheelchair. I mean I’ve read the many updates the mom has made throughout this boys treatment and I can’t even fathom the difficulty they are facing/faced. While none of this excuses his actions it’s hard not to feel for them and want to know what you can do to help. At the beginning of the boys treatment the mom even let out how the child had no insurance cause the bio dad cut him off and ran outta the kids life. So they went almost a year with no insurance. I understand the law is the law and he broke it stealing but it wasn’t just for kicks and giggles or electronics this dude was trying to feed his family. Food banks only give so much and if he couldn’t get state insurance he sure the heck couldn’t get food stamps.
Atbp says
While all of this back story is unfortunate and Im sure he will use it in his court defense, it doesnt require stealing over a six month period of time. You can bet he was stealing from other businesses and possibly his employer as well. I find it interesting that many of these dates where he was committing his thievery occured on weekends(when he wasnt working at the school). Maybe this was his weekend job versus finding a legitimate and honest part time job. After further checking I was wrong about the 60k….its actually alot more than that. I am not a person that is void of any empathy as I have had to pinch pennies early in life to make ends meet. I never resorted to stealing from anyone to make ends meet. This guy needs to be fired and the judge needs to not consider his family issues when he listens to the defense of this habitual thief.
Karma says
Coach Z. Can’t say that I feel sorry for you. You made a poor decision when you chose someone else’s friendship over mine. I get it, bros over hoe$. I hope you can call him up to help you out in your time of need. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Funny, I don’t think he’s ever been your friend.
TREEMAN says
I do NOT trust Walmart self-check outs!! I had a few double charges which I had to have a Walmart manager cancel! BEWARE if you make a mistake; you could be trespassed or arrested! Cheating the self-check by $3,000.00+ is NOT a mistake!!!T
Laurel says
Hubby and I always head for the line with the cashier for the simple reason to keep a person in a job. We do let someone ahead of us when they only have a couple of items. The only time I ever use a self scanner is if I have only one item. We will also use this section by asking the monitor to cashier items for us. You know, act a little dumb.
I’m not going to put this on inflation, but on corporate profit. We recently got two gorgeous, grass fed steaks for $18. Each steak was large and thick enough to split between us. Now, each serving is $4.50, and with mushrooms, a few cents more (and yummo). Where you shop makes a difference.
Student says
These comments are disgusting, chemotherapy alone costs 10,000-12,000 a month, not to mention this man had multiple kids and a wife to take care of, the real focus should be on paying teachers more. The way this article makes it also seem as he was stealing groceries, which are necessary to his and his family’s wellbeing. From everything I have heard this man is a great teacher and was only trying to get by. He is a crucial part of our community for our children and everyone is missing the entire point.
Bethechange says
Keep Christ in Christian: Let you who among you is without sin cast the first stone.
Atwp says
Student wrong is wrong. Didn’t know chemo was that expensive. Sorry to hear about the child with cancer. That alone is bad and mentally challenging. Stealing isn’t the answer. He got caught. From what I read in the story this was no mistake it was planned I believe. He is a teacher I’m sure the insurance he has is probably paying some of the bill. I will not support this man because of his wrong doing.
Informed Citizen says
Walmart is an abomination. They should be put on trial for slavery. They pay their employees next to nothing. I can’t believe tax payer dollars are being wasted on investigating Mickey Mouse shit like this.
I will not shop there for any reason. It reminds me of that movie Idiocracy. All of this is driven by corporate greed. If the Walton family would spend a fraction of the 275 billion they have to upgrade their customer’s shopping experience maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
palmcoaster says
Sad very sad…Maybe under the circumstances of the reponsibility to feed his pretty numerous family on a teacher’s pay has provoked this teacher to kind of get mentally affected and maybe loose his common sense mind? Four kids family to sustain nowadays with the current inflation on a teachers pay is pretty extreme to me, while one of our government administrators shows in equestrian boots at public meetings to display her equine ownership affluence affforded by the taxes we are forced to conrtibute to sustain her payroll.
This teacher should not be given jail but community service in the summers off from school and counseling… lets do not punish his family! Please do not affect his retirement vital for survival…there is always sin, punishment but give him the chance to redemption.