A Buford man arrested last week in Gainesville who is charged with shoplifting hundreds of dollars’ worth of items from a local store gained national notoriety because of his name five years ago when he was arrested on theft charges in Gwinnett County.
Gainesville Police charged Speedy Gonzalez with shoplifting from the Shallowford Road Walmart Friday. Police reports show that the incident occurred the same day.
In 2025, Gwinnett County Police arrested Gonzalez on charges of stealing $3,000 in checks from mailboxes, forging the checks, buying $3,000 worth of merchandise from a Home Depot, and then returning the items for a cash refund.
And just who is the “other” Speedy Gonzalez? In case you don’t know, he is an animated cartoon character created years ago who stars in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.
The Buford Speedy’s name generated national attention in 2020 when he was arrested. A quick internet search turned up stories about his arrest in several places around Georgia and as far away as Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri, just to name a few.
(Gwinnett Police photo)
