By Staff

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 39-year-old woman from Ocala, Amanda May Shrewsberry, was apprehended on Saturday on charges of shoplifting and resisting arrest after an incident at a Gainesville Walmart. Authorities allege that she attempted to steal a portable movie projector and a boat sonar device, and engaged in a physical altercation with police officers and store employees.

According to a report from the Gainesville Police Department, Shrewsberry allegedly entered the Walmart located at Butler Plaza (2900 SW 42nd Street) around noon on December 5. Surveillance footage reportedly shows her taking a $349 boat sonar device and placing it in her purse before exiting the store without paying.

The following day, while a police officer was on-site investigating the previous day’s theft, a store employee alerted the Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) to a woman they believed to be Shrewsberry. As the LPO and police officer monitored her movements on surveillance cameras, she was observed selecting a large black storage container and placing it in her cart. She then reportedly added a portable movie projector, valued at $268 and secured with an anti-theft “spider wrap,” into the container, concealing it under a large stuffed animal.

As Shrewsberry navigated through the store, she was seen walking alongside her cart with her hand inside the storage container. At one point, she reportedly removed the projector from the container, leaving its box and anti-theft device on a product shelf. These items were later recovered in the same aisle.

After seemingly ensuring she was not being watched, Shrewsberry allegedly took the unboxed projector, placed it in her purse, and headed towards the garden department exit. Her actions were closely monitored, leading to her arrest shortly thereafter.

The officer and LPO waited outside for her, and when they told her to stop, she allegedly grabbed the officer’s handcuffs while holding tightly to her purse. The officer reported that Shrewsberry pulled away and swung her arms to resist being detained; the LPO and the other Walmart employee tried to help, and the LPO placed Shrewsberry in handcuffs, but her hands were cuffed in front of her instead of behind her, and she allegedly continued to try to pull away.

The officer reported that Shrewsberry had to be physically held down, and she allegedly “screamed the entire time” and kept twisting away to break free. A Walmart employee was pushed backward at one point and hit his head and back on an electrical box. The other Walmart employee had bruises and abrasions on his arms, and the officer’s wrists were injured, along with some lower-body bruises.

Shrewsberry has been charged with two counts of felony petit theft with two or more prior theft convictions, resisting merchant detainment, removing an anti-theft device, and resisting an officer without violence. She has 10 felony convictions (non-violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), and she has served two state prison sentences, with her most recent release in March 2024. Judge David Kreider set bail at $50,000 on the charges from the theft of the projector, and Judge Susan Miller-Jones added $10,000 for the theft of the boat sonar device.

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.