A Gainesville woman was arrested for stealing merchandise worth $344.38 from Walmart and then dragging and hitting the store manager who tried to stop her on Friday, Gainesville Police said.
Faith Vernesia Nobles, 36, walked up to the self-checkout lane of the Walmart, located at 5700 NW 23rd St., at 8:06 p.m., according to an arrest report. The store’s video surveillance showed that she pretended to scan each item, and then walked towards the exit with the stolen goods, police said.
The store’s manager and loss prevention officer, who had been watching Nobles through the security cameras, confronted her, police said. Nobles tried to get away from the pair, when the store manager grabbed her in an effort to detain her until police arrived, according to the report.
In grabbing Nobles, the manager’s arm got caught in Nobles’ purse straps, according to the report. She dragged the caught manager into the parking lot in an effort to escape, police said.
Nobles hit the Walmart manager across the face and in the ribs, according to the report.
The struggle between Nobles, the loss prevention officer and the store manager continued in the Walmart parking lot until police arrived, according to the report.
“I have the money to pay for it,” Nobles told police when they got to the scene.
After her arrest, Nobles told police she took a vacuum cleaner from the store without paying for it, according to the report. Police said they searched her purse and found three grams of marijuana and a small pipe with ashes on it.
Nobles was arrested on charges of resisting merchant detainment, grand theft, simple battery, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was taken to the Alachua County Jail where she remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Lewis__Robert.
