SUFFOLK, Va. — A quick trip to the store Tuesday morning took a scary turn when a mother realized a woman took her 4-year-old son from her shopping cart at a Suffolk Walmart.
New court documents say 35-year-old Keeta Neville admitted to police she picked the child up while his mother was checking out of the store. Neville allegedly tried leaving the store with the little boy in her arms.
According to the criminal complaint, the mother told police she saw her child in Neville's arms and the boy "kept wriggling to get away."
The mom told investigators her son dropped to the floor and tried running away when Neville grabbed his arm, leaving red marks on his arm.
Suffolk police said Walmart employees tried stopping Neville from leaving the store. Detectives said she let go moments later and ran outside where police officers later caught her.
Following her arrest, investigators said Neville attacked one of their officers twice when transporting her to the jail, kicking at him and resisting arrest. They said the officer did not get seriously hurt in the incident.
This description of Neville's behavior is similar to another incident detailed in Norfolk court documents from a 2021 incident with Norfolk police.
According to court records obtained by 13News Now, Norfolk police officers responded to a call of disorderly conduct and trespassing to find Neville arguing with her neighbor.
The officer who arrived on scene said he found Neville with an unknown substance covering her head. He said Neville described the substance as "acid" and said her husband had pointed a gun at her head before leaving the scene. Officers were unable to confirm if any of this information was true.
When officers said they attempted to detain Neville, that's when she started to struggle with them, refusing to let them put her in handcuffs. They said they then tried putting her in the police car and that's when she started kicking, striking multiple officers.
Investigators said she kicked the officers several times again as they escorted her to her jail cell.
In Norfolk City Court, Neville had to be removed from the courtroom due to a disturbance.
Neville's attorney made a plea agreement, saying if Neville got a mental health evaluation and behaved properly for at least 12 months, they would not send her to jail and her guilty plea would be put on hold until June 2024. The judge said if Neville was evaluated and it was determined she needed mental health services and prescribed medication, she would need to follow those recommendations.
Neville was also put under supervised probation for that advisement period.
Suffolk police are still investigating why Neville tried taking the boy in the first place.
She faces multiple charges, including abduction and assault on law enforcement. Neville is scheduled back in Suffolk Court on July 11.