A Bay City couple recently got engaged at a Walmart, and then shoplifted jewelry and sex toys, police say.

Early on the evening of December 30, police were called the the Spencer's inside of the Bay City Mall for a shoplifting complaint. Both suspects left before police got there. Deputies later found the woman, who was being followed by a Spencer's employee.

When officers searched the woman, they found a necklace and a pair of gold earrings.

She told the officers that she and her fiancé, William J. Cornelius Jr., went to the mall to shop and maybe see a movie and denied their involvement in the incident at Spencer's.

Officers later found Cornelius asleep in the mall's food court, MLive reports that police say it appeared as though he had fallen asleep while tying his shoes.

They woke Cornelius up and searched him, finding a watch, an edible thong, a sex toy, panties, and sex candy from Spencer's.

Cornelius told the officers that he stole the items to give to his fiancée. He then disclosed that they had just gotten engaged at WalMart.

The officers then decided to check out the WalMart, where staff told them that Cornelius had asked an employee to read a proposal note over the store's public address system, asking his girlfriend to marry him. The officers obtained surveillance footage showing the proposal, with Cornelius and his new fiancée hugging and kissing as people around them clapped.

Officers learned from Walmart that Cornelius had purchased an engagement ring at the store for $29.62.

At the jail, police interviewed the couple again. The woman admitted that the items found on her were stolen, but asserted that she was not a thief.

Cornelius admitted to taking the jewelry and items from Spencer's, saying he was feeling bold because he was on Tramadol.

Cornelius was released on a personal recognizance bond after being charged with third-degree retail fraud.

Cornelius was on probation at the time of the thefts. In 2014 he was sentenced to three years probation for ethnic intimidation after he and his cousin attacked three black men who walked past their home.

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