LIBERTY — Two Youngstown men who were arrested Friday concerning theft reports at the Liberty Plaza Walmart are set to appear for their pretrials today.

Isaiah Scott, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges of theft, carrying concealed weapons, failure to comply, tampering with evidence and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, as well as several traffic-related charges Monday.

Alan Johnson, also 22, pleaded not guilty to carrying concealed weapons, theft and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, as well as charges of falsification and drug paraphernalia.

According to a police report, an officer received a call from a Walmart employee about a theft report, where the employee said two subjects walked past the cash registers with T-bone steaks and men’s underpants. He added that they were being uncooperative and were running away, later calling back and adding that they got into a black Chevrolet SUV and were traveling west through the parking lot to Belmont Avenue.

The report states that upon entering the area, the officer saw a vehicle matching the description cut through the parking lot at a “high rate of speed,” go through the parking lot in front of Little Caesars and travel north on Belmont Avenue, before entering the KFC parking lot, turning around and continuing onto East Montrose Street.

The report states that as the vehicle approached Goldie Road again, the officer pulled up to the vehicle’s left side, where the driver looked at the officer, gestured and said, “I’m going back to Walmart.”

Because he did not know why they were running from him and attempting to return to Walmart, the officer noted that he wanted to make sure they didn’t return to the store to “create further problems or put any employee or customer at risk.”

The report states the officer continued pursuing the vehicle — which was still traveling quickly — westbound on Goldie Road and the officer attempted to get in front of it with his patrol vehicle to slow it down. Once again, the driver repeated, “I’m going to Walmart.”

After the driver attempted to swerve past on the left side of the officer’s patrol vehicle, the vehicle came to a complete stop. The report states that the officer then drew his firearm at both people in the car and gave the driver ” multiple” direct orders to turn off the vehicle, but he repeated that they were heading back to Walmart.

The report states that after the seventh order to turn off the vehicle, the driver finally complied, and both the passenger and driver were handcuffed. When the officer told the driver he wasn’t listening to orders, he responded, “I told you I was going to Walmart”, adding that he saw the officer.

While securing him in another officer’s patrol vehicle, which arrived after two officers came to assist, the reporting officer found an “unknown powdery white and purple substance” on the ground, along with the same substance in a knotted up baggie by the driver’s side door, according to the report.

Both Johnson, the passenger, and Scott were identified at that point. Officers searched the vehicle and found a black and gray 9 mm handgun under the passenger floor mat and a 9 mm round between the seat and the middle compartment, according to the report.

Officers patted down Johnson, finding a digital black scale with white residue inside of a black satchel bag around his neck, according to the report.

The report states officers also found a clear plastic bag with multiple tablets inside, which Johnson denied knowing about, claiming that the pants he was wearing weren’t even his.

The report states Johnson was “very talkative” until he was asked about the firearm, refusing to answer when asked if it belonged to him.

By that point, officers informed Scott of his rights and were asking him why he didn’t stop. Scott told officers he was trying to return to Walmart to clear things up, adding that he had returned the items to Walmart, so he didn’t understand what the problem was.

He added that he did see the officer with his lights and just wanted to handle things at the store.

The report states that when he was asked about the gun, he initially told officers it was his and he had purchased it from a gun show and it was something he always kept under the floor mat, describing the gun and saying his fingerprints would be on it.

However, when officers told him about his charges, he swayed away from the story, according to the report, saying that the gun did not belong to him — changing his story “multiple times.” He added that the unknown drugs did not belong to him, either.

Scott was released on bond Monday. Johnson was still in the Trumbull County jail as of Tuesday afternoon, according to its inmate list.