'Costs everyone money:' Sheriff touts Naples arrest in retail theft crackdown

NAPLES, Fla. — The Sheriff of Collier County is touting a recent arrest as an example of his agency's work to stop theft from driving up costs for you, when you go shopping.

RELATED: In November 2023, FOX 4's Community Correspondent Dominga Murray found out why the efficiencies of self check-out brought an unexpected consequence for retailers and shoppers:

Detectives say they arrested Kimberly McDonnell of Naples Wednesday. They say she stole thousands of dollars in merchandise from Target by not scanning all of her items at the self-checkout.

They say the 36 year old made 18 trips to the Target on Tarpon Bay Boulevard and stole 151 items totaling $3,472.02 from Nov. 30, 2024 to Feb. 2, 2025.

Detectives say the stolen items ranged from a $2.19 bottle of Dr. Pepper to a $54.42 throw pillow and from a $5.60 box of mechanical pencils to a $795 mattress.

In a Facebook post on the arrest, the agency wrote, "The CCSO investigation and arrest of McDonnell reflects Sheriff Rambosk’s commitment to curbing retail theft in Collier County, which affects law-abiding citizens who have costs passed onto them because retailers are forced to recover expenses."

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said it built a longstanding partnership with area retailers to identify and arrest individuals who commit retail theft. And because of this partnership, detectives say they worked Target loss prevention employees who reported observing McDonnell using the self-checkout and not scanning all of her items and then leaving the store without paying for the un-scanned merchandise.

Detectives reviewed store surveillance video which showed McDonnell at the store’s self-checkout on multiple occasions failing to scan items in her cart and then leaving the store without paying for them before driving away in a silver SUV.

RELATED: In January 2024, Scripps News Group's Don't Waste Your Money series with John Matarese reported on what self-checkout thefts were doing to your wallet.

“It was obvious the suspect was not scanning the items with the intention of not paying for them,” detectives said in McDonnell’s arrest report.

Detectives charged McDonnell with grand theft $750-$5,000.