It’s a loony coincidence.
An alleged serial shoplifter with a bizarre name was arrested and charged with stealing over $20,000 of merchandise from Walmart stores across northern Georgia, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Speedy Gonzalez, 40, was accused of placing pricy items into a cheap container at the self-checkout, but only scanning the inexpensive large item without scanning the smaller items hidden inside.
“Nicotine, gum, diabetic strips, you know, high-priced items, although smaller in nature,” Gainesville Police Lt. Kevin Holbrook said. “He would then pick out an item from the shelf, such as a trash can. In one instance, it was a mailbox… Then take all those items, stick it into the box with the larger item, and then take that, pay for it, and walk out of the store.”
This trick allowed Gonzalez to walk away with much more than he paid for, but the police caught onto his alleged crimes and arrested him 10 days after another alleged theft in March.
He was accused of over 20 thefts in Georgia’s Hall, Barrow, Gwinnett, Habersham, White, and Lumpkin counties.
Gonzalez, who lived northeast of Atlanta, was arrested and booked into the Hall County jail and faces a series of federal charges, according to the Gainesville Police Department.
It’s not Gonzalez’s first run-in with police.
In April 2020, Gonzalez was busted in Gwinnett County for allegedly stealing checks from a mailbox and trying to buy $3,000 worth of items with the funds at a local Home Depot.
He did live up to his name in that crime since law enforcement took months to arrest him.
UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Gonzalez’s name is nearly the exact same as the iconic Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales, the quick mouse with an oversized yellow sombrero.
The cartoon was inspired by Frank Gonzales, an assistant animator at Warner Bros. known for being able to draw very fast, according to a former animation employee, Martha Goldman Sigall.
Social media users poked fun at Gonzalez’s misfortune after his crime spree.
“Clearly wasn’t speedy enough,” one person wrote in the comment section of the Gainesville Police Department’s original Facebook arrest posting.
“He needs to change his name,” another wrote. “Change it to slowpoke Rodriguez after getting caught.”
“Tell me that is not his real name,” another quipped.
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