Boy nabbed from mom’s cart at self-checkout — so Walmart workers step in, VA cops say

A group of Walmart employees in Virginia thwarted a kidnapping when they confronted a woman headed out the door with someone’s child, according to the Suffolk Police Department.

It happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, and the suspect was found minutes later in a nearby parking lot, police said in a news release.

Investigators did not report if the boy suffered injuries during the ordeal.

“The preliminary investigation revealed the victim, a juvenile male age 4, and his mother were in the self-checkout lane when an unknown woman walked up, took the child out of the cart, and attempted to walk out of the store,” police said.

“Several store employees stopped the women who then put the child down and the child ran to his mother. The female then exited the store and ran through the parking lot.”

The suspect, 35-year-old Keeta Nicole Neville, was arrested at 9:14 a.m. in the parking lot of an Applebee’s, police said. The restaurant is just across the street from the Walmart.

Investigators have not released a motive in the case.

Neville, who lives in nearby Norfolk, faces charges including kidnapping/abducting by force, four counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of simple assault and battery, jail records show. She was being held without bond.

This story was originally published May 31, 2023 at 4:58 AM with the headline "Boy nabbed from mom’s cart at self-checkout — so Walmart workers step in, VA cops say."