‘Chronic shoplifter’ arrested with over $300 of stolen clothing from Marshall’s

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – William C. Dennis, 33, was arrested yesterday after allegedly walking out of Marshall’s with over $300 in clothing items; the arresting officer reported that he is well known to law enforcement as an “aggressive and chronic” shoplifter who stole items from Dick’s Sporting Goods on a daily basis in the summer of 2024 until he was caught.

At about 3:22 p.m. on May 1, Dennis allegedly entered Marshall’s (3965 Plaza Blvd) empty-handed, selected clothing items worth $310.77 and hid them inside the store, then selected a backpack valued at $34.77, went back to the stolen clothing, and placed the items in the backpack. He reportedly walked quickly out of the store, bypassing all points of purchase.

A Gainesville Police Department (GPD) Detective was in the store’s Loss Prevention Office at the time, and he chased after and apprehended Dennis.

The arresting officer noted that in the past, GPD has set up covert details specifically to apprehend Dennis because of his repeated “carryout-style” shoplifting.

Dennis has been charged with petit theft with three or more previous convictions, and four more sworn complaints are pending, but those documents are not yet available from the court website. He has eight felony convictions (non-violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), with most of them in Alachua County since 2023. He was sentenced in several cases in November 2024 and served seven months in the Alachua County Jail (with credit for 23 days served); he was released on April 7. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $15,000.

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.