BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - A former Walmart employee charged in the death of a suspected shoplifter at a Florida store has died from a heart attack, his wife said.
Judy Tomko told The Ledger on Monday that she and her husband, Randall Eugene Tomko, 62, were delivering newspapers in Polk County last Wednesday when he collapsed. He was hospitalized and died two days later.
A manslaughter charge was still pending against Tomko. His lawyer, Jeff Holmes, had filed a motion to dismiss the charges under the state’s stand-your-ground law, but that hearing had not taken place.
Tomko and two other Walmart employees used excessive force when they tackled and restrained Kenneth Wisham, 64, outside a Lakeland Walmart in February 2016, according to an arrest report. It said Wisham was suspected of taking $400 in DVDs, video games, medicine and a toaster.
Wishman struggled for several minutes during the scuffle before turning quiet, investigators said. A medical examiner’s report showed Wisham died of mechanical asphyxiation and suffered several broken ribs in the scuffle.
Charges remain pending against Crucelis Nunez, 27, and Nathan Higgins, 39. They each have a pretrial conference scheduled for June 23. They’ve pleaded not guilty.
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