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Written by: A. Smith
Published April 4, 2025 @ 10:40 AM ET
HALL COUNTY, Ga. – A man with a long arrest record and a name straight out of a cartoon is facing a new set of charges after police say he shoplifted thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from Walmart stores across North Georgia.
Gainesville police arrested 40-year-old Speedy Gonzalez in March after identifying him on surveillance footage at the Walmart on Shallowford Road. Authorities say Gonzalez is connected to more than 20 thefts at stores in Hall, Barrow, Gwinnett, Habersham, White, and Lumpkin counties, with stolen items totaling over $20,000.
According to investigators, Gonzalez used a method that allowed him to walk out of stores with high-value merchandise while only paying for large storage items. He allegedly hid smaller, expensive products such as nicotine packs, diabetic test kits, and gum inside large containers like trash cans or mailboxes. At checkout, he paid only for the outer item and exited the store with the concealed goods.
Police say Gonzalez returned to the same Gainesville Walmart 10 days later, where he was taken into custody. Officers discovered more suspected stolen items inside his vehicle and began linking him to similar crimes at other Walmart locations across the region.
This is not Gonzalez’s first run-in with the law. In 2020, he was arrested in Gwinnett County after being accused of stealing checks from a mailbox in Suwanee and attempting to use them at a local Home Depot.
Following his latest arrest, Gonzalez was initially booked into the Hall County Jail and is now being held in Barrow County as law enforcement agencies coordinate possible additional charges.