An Ocala man was arrested last week for the fourth time in 2019, this time for allegedly trying to swindle Home Depot out of more than $600 by shoplifting items and having a woman try to return them in exchange for gift cards.
Travis John Neff, 41, was charged with retail petit theft after the incident, which happened Nov. 18 at the big box home improvement store at 3300 SW 35th Terrace. He’s being held without bond in the Marion County Jail and will appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 27.
Neff’s been arrested twice this year on domestic battery charges – once in July for battering a woman who tried to leave their trailer, and again in August after a domestic spat in Dunnellon. In September, his bond for the August incident was revoked when he was charged with violating pre-trial release conditions.
An Ocala Police officer responded to the store, where a loss-prevention employee said a woman came in and tried to return stolen items in exchange for a gift card. The employee said the woman and Neff were working together on the scam. He showed the deputy surveillance footage of Neff entering the store with a shopping cart and placing two 5-gallon buckets of paint in it, according to the OPD report.
The video showed Neff proceeding to the customer service area and walking the cart near the exit door. He then left the cart near the exit as he walked out of the store. Neff walked into the parking lot, got into a white Ford pickup truck, and drove to the exit door and dropped off the woman, the report said.
The woman took the cart, which contained the paint and a Romex wire, and took the items to customer service and returned them for store credit. She received a gift card for $626.03 and walked out of the store, where she was detained by the security employee a short time later, according to the report.
The woman agreed to speak to the police officer and confessed her involvement. She said Neff told her to go into the store and return the items in the cart. When asked if she paid for the items, she said no, the report said.
At the officer’s request, the woman contacted Neff asking his whereabouts. He said he was in the area of the Party Shop on SW College road and that he would meet up with her at Lowes. The officer went to Lowes and located Neff, who was placed under arrest, according to the report.
The woman was not arrested.