‘They’re arresting me’: Florida woman made 18 trips to target for self-checkout. Nobody realised she was quietly building a $3,472 tab

One missed payment at self-checkout can cause trouble. But repeated trips with unpaid items can turn into something much more serious. 

Target shoppers have worried about what happens when a self-checkout payment does not actually go through. For one Florida woman, however, the problem allegedly went on for months. Then deputies showed up at a place she probably did not expect: her workplace.

According to a YouTube video showing bodycam footage of the arrest, deputies arrived at Kimberly McDonnell’s office and told her she was being arrested for grand theft from Target. Investigators accused the 36-year-old of making 18 trips to the store and taking 151 unpaid items worth $3,472.02. By the time officers came for her, Target allegedly had surveillance footage of the trips.

There was a lot more to this 

The alleged thefts occurred at a Target on Tarpon Bay Boulevard in Naples, Florida, between Nov. 30, 2024, and Feb. 2, 2025. Detectives claimed McDonnell repeatedly used the self-checkout area without scanning every item in her cart before leaving the store.

The merchandise was not limited to expensive purchases. The list allegedly included a $2.19 bottle of Dr. Pepper, a $5.60 box of mechanical pencils, and a $54.42 throw pillow. At the other end was a mattress valued at $795.

That range helps explain why the case is more interesting than one unusually expensive trip through self-checkout. Investigators were allegedly looking across repeated visits and eventually connected 151 unpaid products to McDonnell. Target’s approach to suspected theft has already made shoppers curious about what its self-checkout system may be tracking.

The bodycam footage captures the moment that investigation reached McDonnell. After deputies found her at work and asked to speak somewhere private, an officer told her she was being placed under arrest.

“Me?” McDonnell responded. “Oh my goodness,” she added after being told it was for grand theft from Target.

The deputy told her there were multiple occasions when she had paid for some merchandise while allegedly failing to pay for other items. He also told her investigators had video and photographs.

McDonnell then wanted to know what would happen next. The officer explained that she would be taken to jail, fingerprinted, and booked before potentially being able to bond out.

Her attention quickly turned to her children. McDonnell told deputies that one of her children was home sick while her youngest was seven. Officers allowed her to contact someone who could get home and make sure the children were cared for.

During one phone call, McDonnell told her husband, “I need you to leave work and go home like right now cuz I’m not able to go home.” She then explained why. “The sheriff’s office is here and they’re arresting me,” McDonnell said. “They said for theft at Target for self checkout.”

Deputies continued trying to keep the arrest discreet. One officer allowed her to walk to the patrol vehicle before being handcuffed and later told her that, because she had been cooperative, the cuffs would be placed in front rather than behind her.

As the reality of the situation sank in, McDonnell began asking what the arrest could mean beyond spending time in jail. She wanted to know whether the felony allegation already made her a felon. The deputy clarified that being arrested did not mean she had been convicted.

Then another concern surfaced. “I wonder if I’m going to get fired,” McDonnell said.

The bodycam footage shows McDonnell’s arrest, not the alleged thefts themselves. According to Guessing Headlights, McDonnell was arrested on Feb. 12, 2025, on the grand theft charge and released on bond that same day.

Florida law classifies theft of property worth at least $750 but less than $5,000 as third-degree grand theft, according to the Florida Senate. The $3,472.02 McDonnell is accused of taking falls within that range.

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