Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said the incident took place about 10:35 p.m. at the Walmart at 217 Garrisonville Road in North Stafford. A witness reported that a suspect wearing a cow costume crawled into the store on his hands and knees.

The suspect came out of the store a short time later with a cart full of milk. He tried to hand out some of the jugs to passersby, but apparently no one accepted the offer. The suspect then left the cart on the sidewalk and skipped away, Kennedy said.

The suspect was gone when Deputy Kurt McBride arrived, but while at the store McBride got a call about a disturbance at a nearby McDonald’s. There really wasn’t a disturbance, Kennedy said, but McBride spotted a teenager in the back of one of the cars who matched the description he had been given at Walmart.

A cow costume was recovered from the back of the car as well.

The teen was taken back to the Walmart and a witness identified him as the person who was involved in the apparent prank earlier. Jonathan Payton, 18, was charged with shoplifting and released on a summons.

All of the milk was recovered outside the store, but Kennedy said the teen was charged anyway because he took the milk out of the store without paying.