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Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ocala woman with prior theft convictions arrested after stealing groceries from Walmart

A 49-year-old Ocala woman with several prior theft convictions was arrested after she stole over $75 worth of groceries from a local Walmart.

On Monday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the Walmart located at 9570 SW Highway 200 in reference to an incident of theft. Upon arrival, a loss prevention associate advised that a female, later identified as Latanya Renee Williams, had failed to correctly scan multiple items.

Latanya Renee Williams
Latanya Renee Williams

The deputy viewed the store’s video surveillance footage which showed Williams approaching the register at 5:50 p.m. The MCSO report indicated that Williams stacked multiple grocery items, including frozen dinners and fish fillets, and she only scanned the bottom item before placing the entire stack into a Walmart bag. The deputy noted in the report that this occurred multiple times during the transaction.

At approximately 5:52 p.m., Williams exited the store with the unpaid merchandise which was valued at $76.08. The loss prevention associate provided the license plate number from Williams’ vehicle to the deputy, and a computer search revealed that Williams was the only registered owner of the vehicle.

The deputy responded to Williams’ temporary residence located on SW 173rd Place Road and located her. She confirmed that she had shopped at Walmart earlier in the day.

Williams told the deputy that she was homeless and only had $50 to spend at the store. The deputy reviewed her receipt from Walmart and verified that she did not purchase the stolen items.

The MCSO report indicated that Williams told the deputy that she had never stolen anything before. The deputy conducted a criminal history search of Williams and discovered that she had two prior theft convictions in Georgia in 1996.

Williams was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where she was later released on $2,000 bond. She is facing a felony charge for second degree petit theft (third or subsequent offense).

A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.