Pro-gun mom STOLE five pairs of shorts worth $455 and tried to sneak them out of a Florida store in her child's stroller
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline and Laura Collins In Palatka, Florida For Dailymail.com
March 11, 2016
A Florida mom shot by her four-year old son while driving in Florida stole almost $500 worth of shorts using her baby's stroller as cover.
Jamie Gilt, 30, was arrested by Jacksonville Sheriff's Department on April 4, 2013 after she was detained by security guards at Dillard's department store in the town.
The prominent gun rights activist was spotted stuffing children's clothes into her purse and hiding the bag in the child's stroller.
She was arrested by Jacksonville Sheriff's Department and charged with a felony count Grand Theft Retail.
Officers released her on a bond of $2,503 pending a court hearing.
According to her arrest report: 'The suspect entered the Juniors department of Dillard, selected several clothing items and concealed them in the purse she was carrying.
'The suspect then placed her purse in the stroller she was pushing and then attempted to exit the store without paying in an attempt to appropriate the property as her own.
'The suspect was detained by loss protection personnel and the property, totaling $455 was recovered.
'The suspect was arrested on the above charge and transported to the Duval County Jail.'
According to official records Gilt stole five pairs of shorts worth $89 each from the store.
Gilt, who attended the Grace Christian Academy has a tattoo of two horseshoes with a rose on her left ankle as well as a scar on her forehead.
At the time of the theft, according to records held by Duval County Court, Gilt was unemployed and was granted a public defender attorney.
In November 2013, court records show Gilt completed a 'Felony pre-trial intervention program'.
Michael Monroe Kirkland, Assistant State Attorney wrote to the clerk of the circuit court in Duval County announcing that the state was dropping charges against Gilt after she successfully completed the course.
Gilt is currently recovering in hospital after her son picked up her loaded .45 semi-automatic handgun which was lying in the back seat of her truck and opened fire.
One round passed through the seat, entering Gilt's body through her back before the powerful bullet exited through her stomach.
Earlier Gilt's mother Jane Bramble, 71 said: 'It was just a freakish accident, Jamie’s done nothing wrong.
‘People are trying to make it into something it’s not, we are not criminals, we are the victims here.
Speaking to Daily Mail Online from the family's home in Palatka, Florida, Mrs Bramble claimed her daughter was facing 'a long road to recovery.'
She said her grandson, who pulled the trigger, was 'watching cartoons'.
Mrs Bramble continued: ‘She grew up with guns and I grew up with guns. This is the country – if you see something come onto your property what are you going to do? Shoot it. If I see a rattlesnake come up here I’ll blow it to bits. What would you do?
‘If they try to take our guns from us they’ll just go into the hands of criminals. People own guns here, it’s our way of life – hunting and shooting. But I’d still own a gun if I lived in New York City.’
Mrs Bramble admitted that the whole family had been shocked and troubled by the shooting that happened on Tuesday morning.
Fighting back emotion she said: ‘Of course I’m upset. Just think what could have happened.’
But she insisted that her daughter – who may yet face criminal charges of negligence for allowing her gun to fall into her son’s hands – had no crime to answer to.
She said: ‘The Sheriff hasn’t spoken to her as far as I know. Why would he? And they’ve not spoken to him either,’ she added pointing at her blonde-haired grandson.
As she spoke he held a plastic T-Rex toy up like a gun, taking aim and rapidly pulling the trigger to make it snap.
Mrs Bramble revealed that she did not know when her daughter would be released from the University of Florida Hospital in Gainesville where she was rushed following the incident.
She explained: ‘Mark [the boy’s father] has been at her bedside all the time since it happened and she’s in the best care but they won’t say when she’ll get out.
‘It will be a long road to recovery and this is something that we’re all united in.’
Mrs Bramble went onto read a prepared statement in which the family expressed thanks for all the prayers and support they have received.
She said: ‘I’ve had phone calls from people I haven’t heard from in years. People are being supportive; they know this is our way of life.
‘Of course you have to be respectful of guns. You can’t just get angry and pull your gun on somebody but this was just an accident and we just want to get over it as a family.'
Gilt hosted the Facebook page Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense, which has since been removed from the internet since the shooting.
Putnam County Sheriff's investigators are still trying to determine how the boy got his hands on the gun they say he used to shoot his mother.
Gilt owns the .45-caliber gun the boy fired on Tuesday afternoon, Putnam County Sheriff's Office spokesman Joseph Wells said.
Wells said a deputy saw her behaving frantically inside the truck, which was stopped partially in the road. The deputy then saw she'd been shot in the back and the bullet had exited from her stomach area, Wells said.
Gilt told deputies her son had accidentally shot her, according to Wells. She was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, but investigators had not been able to interview her, Wells said.
The boy, who wasn't injured, is with relatives. The Florida Department of Children and Families also is investigating.
Before it was removed from public view, the 'Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense' Facebook page featured many posts from other pages supporting gun ownership and vilifying proposals for more gun control.
The short description of the page on Facebook said it was a place 'to connect people that share a common goal. That goal is to protect and expand our 2nd Amendment rights'.
After the news broke about Gilt's shooting, the posts appeared to be inundated with mocking comments from other Facebook users.
In comments posted March 7 to one post on the page, a user named Jamie Gilt wrote: 'I can promise though, if someone breaks into my house, or tries to harm me or my family pretty anywhere, they will be shot and most likely killed. It's my right to protect my life.'
The same user later replied to another comment about teaching children to shoot: 'All of ours know how to shoot too. Even my 4 year old gets jacked up to target shoot with the .22.'
Investigators are trying to determine whether to bring charges against Gilt.
Under Florida law, it is a misdemeanor for someone to store or leave a loaded gun where a child has access to it.
'They must keep firearms secured and locked,' Wells said.
