Benjamin King arrested again at Missoula Walmart amid safety, shrink concerns

Benjamin King, 45, was arrested March 3, 2026 on felony burglary charges after police say employees confronted him on February 24 at a Missoula Walmart. Public reporting of the arrest states only that officers were told employees confronted King on February 24 when he attempted to — the sentence in the available account stops there and does not list the alleged action or property involved.

King’s case lands amid a string of Missoula retail incidents that illustrate persistent shrink and safety pressures for frontline workers. Loss-prevention records and police reports in prior cases show repeat trespasses and returned offenders. A loss prevention officer documented that 36-year-old Christine Dufour was cited and trespassed from all Walmart property after a February 17, 2024 shoplifting incident; police later responded May 22, 2024 to remove Dufour from the Walmart on Mullan Road after surveillance showed her concealing alcohol inside a sweatshirt and walking past points of sale with a half-empty energy drink. Court documents in Dufour’s file list two current trespass-to-property cases and a history of arrests or charges for shoplifting, petty theft, burglary, conspiracy, and robbery dating to California and a shoplifting charge from Arizona; store records show Dufour returned to Walmart four times after the trespass.

Missoula police records and court paperwork also describe 48-year-old Michael Schulz as a repeat suspect. Officers responded after a July 16, 2025 attempted theft at the Walmart on Highway 93 S.; suspects fled and were located the next day near Buckhouse Bridge. Schulz admitted trying to steal and told officers he believed his trespass had expired, but loss-prevention documentation shows Schulz and a female had been trespassed since September 8, 2022 and had signed acknowledgments. Court documents cited by investigators allege Schulz stole or attempted to steal approximately $3,165.76 in merchandise from Walmart over the prior month and list him as a suspect in four other events.

The overlap of shoplifting and drug-related arrests further complicates enforcement. A February 25, 2026 arrest at a Missoula Winco involved 26-year-old Jamie Clark, who allegedly stole a $9.87 wart treatment product, physically resisted employees, and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and cash. Police inventory recorded 1.3 grams of methamphetamine on Clark’s person and an additional 14.02 grams elsewhere, along with drug paraphernalia and more than $600 in cash; Clark faces felony charges including criminal possession with intent to distribute, and a judge will decide bail.

Local enforcement and retail policy shape what stores can expect when confronting repeat offenders. Montana law and local practice mean felony thresholds hinge on a $1,500 value line; if stolen merchandise totals under $1,500, "an arrest will not be made," police observers say. KPAX framed the practical result bluntly: "A misdemeanor theft charge will not result in jail time, no matter if it is the third, fifth or twentieth offense." Retail operators and local advocates warn of staff pressure: "It puts the clerk, the frontline person, the employee on the floor, in a very compromising and dangerous position, and it puts a big burden on the business itself to keep staff," said Losh.

Walmart’s historical policies also limit frontline intervention. Litigation-revealed 2010 guidance instructed that only asset protection staff and certain managers may detain suspected shoplifters and emphasized "PUT PEOPLE FIRST." The same documents allowed asset protection to "use reasonable force" but restricted pursuit to about 10 feet - "roughly three long strides" - and ordered that "If a suspect is believed to possess a weapon, all associates must disengage from the situation, withdraw to a safe position and contact law enforcement." The company has told reporters, "While we don’t share specifics regarding security measures, associate and customer safety is a top priority."

As Missoula prosecutors and police weigh charges such as felony burglary in King’s case, the mix of trespass acknowledgments, aggregated low-dollar thefts, and substance-related offenses will shape whether individual arrests translate into sustained prosecutions. Jennings summed the operational reality for businesses bluntly: "As far as stopping a theft as it happens, there is not much a business can do." The March 3 arrest of Benjamin King joins several recent Missoula cases that local loss-prevention files and court records show are testing the limits of retail safety, staffing and prosecutorial thresholds.