A 34-year-old Ocala man was arrested after he broke into Chuck’s Used Parts in Reddick and allegedly removed tools and ammunition from the shop.
On Tuesday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to Chuck’s Used Parts located at 18455 N U.S. Highway 441 in reference to a commercial burglary in progress.
The male owner of the shop had informed the deputy that the shop was closed, and a mounted security camera had alerted him that someone was inside the building. The camera had sent photographs of the suspect to the owner’s phone, and the suspect was described as a white male with black shorts, a dark tank top, a camo hat, and tattoos on his arms.
According to the owner, the camera first sent an alert regarding the presence of the suspect at around 2:30 p.m. and the alerts continued until shortly before 3 p.m.
An MCSO aerial unit arrived on scene and located a man matching the suspect’s description. The man was walking north near the 18500 block of N U.S. Highway 441, and the deputy made contact with him shortly after 3:35 p.m.
The man was identified as Cale Austin Frisbie.
Frisbie admitted that he was inside the shop, but he claimed that he did not steal anything. The deputy showed him a picture from the security camera which showed Frisbie carrying a spray can. He admitted that he took the spray can, but he stated that he placed it down by the gate and never left the shop with it.
The owner arrived at the shop and confirmed that approximately 170 miscellaneous wrenches ($400 value) had been removed from the wall along with several pieces of scrap metal, and these items were moved into a pile by the rear door. The owner observed that some power tools had also been moved.
The deputy went to the area where Frisbie claimed to have placed the spray can and a bucket full of paint cans was observed along with a blue metal tool case that contained a bolt threader. A plastic file organizer was also nearby which contained approximately 150 rounds of miscellaneous ammunition (shotgun shells, rifle rounds, and handgun rounds).
The ammunition belonged to the owner, and he stated that it had been stored inside an office. The door to the office appeared to have been kicked in and the lock was broken. According to the MCSO report, after factoring in the cost of the bolt threader ($150 value), ammunition ($200 value), and cans of paint ($5 value), the total estimated loss for the shop was $755.
Frisbie denied taking the wrenches and ammunition. He claimed that he only removed the paint cans and bolt threader from the building, and he had no explanation for how the ammunition had ended up next to the cans of paint that he had removed.
While Frisbie admitted to entering the office inside the shop, he denied breaking the lock on the door.
The deputy conducted a criminal background check and discovered that Frisbie had been previously convicted of burglary on November 3, 2015 in Marion County.
Frisbie was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $14,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft (less than $5,000), and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.