By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 20-year-old Calera man was taken into custody by the Military Police one day after he was arrested by the Alabaster Police Department on a felony military desertion charge.

Wesley Wade Waldrop was arrested at the Lowe’s home improvement store in the Propst Promenade shopping center on March 9 after officers responded to a domestic dispute at the store, said Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney.

When officers arrived at the store, they ran Waldrop’s name through the National Crime Information Center database and discovered Waldrop was wanted on a military desertion warrant issued on Feb. 3.

Waldrop was held in the Alabaster City Jail for one day before he was released to the Military Police, according to the arrest report. The report did not list Waldrop’s branch of service.

According to military law, desertion occurs when an individual “goes or remains absent from his unit, organization or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently.”

A court-martial determines punishments for those found guilty of desertion.