A Tampa woman is in the Marion County Jail on a multitude of charges after she allegedly went on a burglary spree at the Ocala Forest Campground in Dunnellon.
Michaela Danielle Soloman, 35, was charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft of items valued between $100 and $300, second-degree petit theft, criminal mischief with property damage valued between $200 and $1,000, giving false identification to a law enforcement officer, possession of methamphetamine, and smuggling contraband into a detention facility.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies responded Jan. 6 to the report of a burglary in progress at the campground, located at 26301 SE Highway 42. The victim who reported the incident said a woman – later identified as Soloman – had just burglarized her camper, fled on foot, and had just returned and was behind her camper, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A deputy found Soloman hiding beneath another camper on the property and gave loud verbal commands for her to come out. Soloman eventually came out and was taken into custody. She was loud, disorderly, and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance, the report said.
Soloman was holding a black backpack under the camper and she was holding onto it when she came out. The deputy searched Soloman before putting her in the patrol car and found a large Phillips-head screwdriver tucked in her bra. She also had a wad of jewelry in her right shorts pocket. When asked for her name, Soloman replied it was “Alysha L. Miller” and said her date of birth was May 10, 1982, according to the report.
The victim said Soloman showed up at her residence, which is a camper on the northeast side of the campground, at around 3 p.m. The victim said she heard some banging and walked to her camper and found Soloman inside, holding a small bag of costume jewelry. The victim said she took her belongings from Soloman and kicked her out of the camper. She said she chose not to call law enforcement at that time, the report said.
The victim said later, at around 6:26 p.m., she was at another residence at the campground when she again heard banging coming from down near another camper. When she went down to investigate, she saw Soloman standing near the door of another camper, according to the report.
The victim said she saw Soloman rip a small camera from a window and start swinging it by the cord. She also saw Soloman damage a motion-activated exterior light to the left of the door. The victim said she told Soloman she was going to call law enforcement and Soloman fled on foot, yelling and screaming, towards the front of the campground, the report said.
While the deputies were on the way to the scene, the victim again heard banging coming from her camper. When she checked it out, she again found the door open and Soloman standing inside holding the victim’s Coach purse, laptop and the same bag of costume jewelry she had earlier. The victim said she confronted Soloman and took back her items, just before deputies arrived, according to the report.
The victim valued her laptop at around $250, her tan Coach purse at $250 and the costume jewelry at only around $10. The owner of the camper that was vandalized said the camera was worth about $150 and the motion-activated light was worth about $50. There was also about $300 worth of window damage to the camper, but the first victim couldn’t say for sure that Soloman was responsible for it, the report said.
The second victim, whose camper was vandalized, said the jewelry found in Soloman’s pocket was his. He said earlier in the evening, she arrived at his residence and asked to use the bathroom, so he let her in. He said the jewelry that was sitting on his table was now missing and that Soloman must have taken it when he wasn’t looking. The second victim said a Pandora bracelet in the wad of jewelry was worth $50, while the rest of the items were valued at only about $20, according to the report.
The first victim said the black backpack taken from Soloman was hers and worth about $1. Inside the backpack were locks, an additional screwdriver and a cell phone that the first victim believed belonged to her friend and was taken from a trailer on the lot, the report said.
Soloman was taken to the Marion County Jail. After further discussion about her real identity, she gave her social security number and the deputy was able to get her correct name and birthdate. After being read her Miranda rights, Soloman declined to speak with the deputy, according to the report.
Soloman was searched at the jail and deputies found a smell cellophane wrapper in her bra that contained a small amount of a rock-like substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine, the report said.
Soloman is being held on $10,000 bond and will appear in Marion County Court on Feb. 11.