A car drove into the Alps Road Kroger in Athens, Ga. on Dec. 16, 2025.
ATHENS, Ga. - A woman has been arrested and charged following a vehicle crash that sent a car through the front of a Kroger store in Athens earlier this week, according to Athens-Clarke County officials.
Lonneshia Appling arrested
What we know:
Lonneshia Shafaye Appling, 40, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after an investigation by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and booked into the Clarke County Jail.
Jail records show Appling faces one felony charge of serious injury by vehicle, along with misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving, and possession and use of drug-related objects.
Car crashes into Kroger
The backstory:
Police previously said the crash happened on Dec. 16 at the Kroger in the Alps Village Shopping Center, where a car drove through a glass wall and ended up inside the store near the self-checkout area. Photos sent to FOX 5 showed the vehicle inside the store and a heavy police presence at the scene.
What we don't know:
Investigators have not said what caused the vehicle to crash into the store or whether the incident was accidental or intentional.
Lonneshia Appling criminal history
Dig deeper:
Appling’s arrest history stretches across several Georgia counties, with many of her most recent and earliest cases tied to Athens-Clarke County. Court records show she has appeared in Clarke County courts numerous times dating back to the mid-2000s, most often on theft-related charges and probation matters. During that period, she repeatedly appeared before then-State Court Judge N. Kent Lawrence on misdemeanor cases involving shoplifting, criminal trespass, reckless driving, battery, and giving false information to police, along with several probation revocations connected to those cases.
As her cases moved into Superior Court, Appling continued to appear frequently before Judge H. Patrick Haggard, primarily on felony shoplifting charges and later probation violations. Those cases resulted in a mix of jail time and extended probation, with records showing ongoing supervision issues over several years.
Beyond Athens-Clarke County, Appling faced additional felony shoplifting cases in Gwinnett County Superior Court, where she appeared multiple times before Judge Ronnie Batchelor in cases filed in 2019 and again in 2024. Both were resolved by guilty pleas. In the 2024 case, filings show she was already in custody and had to be brought before the court under a habeas corpus order, after which she was ordered to remain at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
Records also show misdemeanor cases and probation-related matters in neighboring Oconee County, as well as at least one protective or no-contact order issued in earlier cases. In Rockdale County, she was cited for speeding in 2016, a misdemeanor traffic case that ended with a bond forfeiture.
Taken together, the records reviewed show a long pattern of theft-related offenses, probation supervision, and repeat violations across multiple counties, along with other charges involving obstruction, fleeing police, drug possession, and battery. This review is based on a limited, multi-county court search, and additional arrests or charges in other jurisdictions could exist that were not identified.
The Source: The details in this article come from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and Athens-Clarke County Sheriff's Office. Court records from Clarke, Oconee, Gwinnett, Rockdale, and Fulton counties were also used. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used.