Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Allen Edward Knox, 37, of Bell, and Lily McNeal, 33, of Lake Panasoffkee, were arrested on August 7 for grand theft, and Knox has now been charged in two other cases along with Michelle Lee McNeal, 36; in each case, one or more of the group allegedly scanned numerous items at self-checkout registers, then walked out with the shopping carts while Michelle McNeal pretended to pay and then walked out without paying.
On August 6, a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer responded to the Walmart at Butler Plaza, where the two women had scanned items at one self-checkout register while Knox scanned some items at a different self-checkout register and then abandoned his items and walked over to their register. Knox allegedly pushed their shopping cart out of the store before the items were paid for. Lily McNeal reportedly walked over to where Knox had been scanning items, but her card was declined, so she went back to the other self-checkout register and allegedly pushed another cart of items out of the store, saying that Michelle McNeal would pay for them. The items were reportedly worth $2,422.12.