Pair arrested for trying to steal $1,500 in merchandise from Walmart

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Lelathia Campbell, 21, and Ozasia Campbell, 22, were arrested yesterday and charged with attempted grand theft after allegedly loading 99 items into a shopping cart at Walmart with the intention of stealing them.

At about 6:47 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the Walmart at 5700 NW 23rd Street, where the Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) said the suspects had placed approximately 99 items, worth $1513.15, into a shopping cart with the intention of walking out the exit in the Garden department without paying for them. The officer reported that the suspects had parked a yellow Penske moving truck near the exit; the back hatch was lifted, and the engine had been running while they were in the store, reportedly about an hour.

The officer reported that the suspects left the cart in the store because they believed they were about to get caught.

Post Miranda, the suspects reportedly admitted that they had gone to Walmart with the sole intent of stealing the items, but they got scared as they approached the exit because store associates were nearby. They said they had driven to Gainesville from Georgia that day and intended to drive back home the same day.

The officer reported that the suspects had no ability to pay for any items because they had left their wallets and phones in the moving truck.

The same suspects were reportedly observed by the LPO at the Walmart in Butler Plaza just before they went to the northwest Walmart; the LPO at Butler Plaza told the GPD officer that the suspects placed a large amount of items in carts but fled the store without taking the items. They reportedly drove from Butler Plaza to the northwest Walmart immediately after that failed attempt.

Both suspects were identified with their Georgia driver’s licenses; Lelathia Campbell’s arrest report shows a Gainesville address, and she reportedly told court officials that she had been here for about two weeks. Ozasia Campbell’s address is listed as Fitzgerald, GA, and she told court officials she had only been here for one day.

The suspects have no criminal history. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $15,000 for each of them and ordered them to have no contact with each other.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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