CALLAHAN, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman and an Orange Park man are facing charges of grand theft and assault and battery respectively after an incident at a Nassau County Winn-Dixie Sunday.
According to a Nassau County Sheriff's Office arrest report, deputies were called to the Winn-Dixie on State Road 200 in Callahan around 7 p.m.
Deputies learned that a man and a woman had entered the store and began to place seafood and alcohol into a shopping cart, then left the store with the merchandise without paying, according to the arrest report. The man and woman were later identified as Gail Youlanda Hamilton, 50, of Jacksonville, and Isaiah Octavius Moore, 27, of Orange Park.
Investigators spoke to one victim, who said she followed Moore out of the store to take a picture of the license plate of the vehicle he was getting into. As she tried to take a picture, Moore slapped the phone out of her hand and raised his hands to hit her, the victim told deputies.
The victim said she was trying to call 911 before Moore slapped the phone out of her hand. She said Hamilton then walked out of the store and entered the vehicle, then rolled the window down and threatened to run the woman and her fiancé over. The victim said when Hamilton was backing the vehicle up, she was scared the vehicle was going to hit them.
Another victim told deputies he saw Moore exit the store followed by two employees who were shouting, "Stop them. They are stealing." The victim said he turned to Moore and announced, "Stop. Security." He said Moore then punched him in the left temple and lower jaw. He said he then saw Hamilton enter the vehicle's driver seat and accelerate, nearly hitting an employee before exiting the parking lot, the report says.
Winn Dixie provided investigators with a receipt of the stolen items, including 19 medium lobster tails, three snow crab legs, four 32-ounce lobster tails, four Peru scallops, five crab clusters, two bags of raw shrimp, Heineken beer, Coronita beer, Yeungling beer and Sam Adams beer, according to the report, totaling nearly $900 in value.
Deputies said they watched the store's surveillance video showing the man and woman walk into the store and eventually walk out with the shopping cart full of food. Moore was pushing the shopping cart in the video, the arrest report says.
Hamilton denied trying to run anyone over with her vehicle, according to the arrest report. She said she drove her nephew to the store so that he could pick up a prescription for his cousin. She said she was in the checkout line buying an alcoholic beverage for her husband when she heard someone yelling and realized her nephew was walking out of the store with a grocery cart.
Hamilton said she walked outside, witnessed an altercation between an unknown man and her nephew, and told her nephew to get into the car so they could leave. Hamilton denied stealing any items from Winn Dixie. She said Winn Dixie employees had no business stopping them from walking out with the groceries, the report says.
Moore told deputies he and his aunt were driving around and decided to stop at a grocery store to shop for food.
Hamilton is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony theft charges. Moore faces charges of felony theft, depriving 911 communications (a felony) and simple battery.
