A Leesburg woman tracked down to her home street for stealing from Walmart received another charge for cocaine found in her bag.
Loss prevention of Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., saw 57-year-old Rosa Lee Taylor stash items in her purse without paying for them around 6:20 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
An associate later provided footage of Taylor moving quickly throughout the store with a black tote bag. She picked up two LED lights, a butane bottle and two wireless charging pads in the process, bringing the total value of stolen goods up to $103.62. She put all of these things into her tote bag and proceeded to leave the store, the report said.
She refused to stop when confronted about this, instead throwing four things onto the sidewalk and leaving in a gray Dodge van. A check of the vehicle’s tag revealed she lived on Seminole Trail, near where she was later pulled over by officers. They asked if she was at Walmart, to which she admitted she was and turned over the red can of butane, the report said.
A subsequent check of Taylor’s criminal history revealed six prior convictions for theft. She was then detained and searched, revealing 13 grams of cocaine contained within the tote bag in her possession, the report said.
Taylor was arrested on charges of retail theft (two or more prior theft), retail theft (resist merchant) and possession of cocaine. She was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $6,000.
Prior thefts include stealing $582 in merchandise from Lowe’s in Aug. 2025, shoplifting steak from Publix in Sept. 2024, and stealing $250 in baby clothes from Target in July 2024. She was also charged with possession of crack cocaine in Dec. 2025.