A 21-year-old man from Anthony was arrested after he allegedly broke into a neighbor’s shed and stole over $700 worth of items.
On Friday, May 27, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a residence on NE 97th Street Road in Anthony in reference to an incident of burglary and grand theft. Upon arrival, a male victim advised that sometime between 7 a.m. on May 23 and 7 p.m. on May 27, an unknown person had entered his shed and stolen a chainsaw and pole saw.
According to the victim, he had recently checked one of his sheds and observed that the doors were damaged and had been pushed in. When the victim entered the shed, he noticed that his red-and-black Craftsman chainsaw and yellow-and-black Poulan Pro pole saw were missing.
The victim did not know the serial number for the chainsaw, but he was able to provide the pole saw’s serial number and model number to the deputy.
Two riding lawnmowers belonging to the victim were in close proximity to the shed. The victim told the deputy that the battery wires had been cut and the original batteries had also been stolen from both lawnmowers.
The victim added that a chain used to secure his back gate appeared to have been tampered with. The victim suspected that a neighbor who lived behind his property, identified as Dewey Orbin Dorsey, had committed the theft. The victim told the deputy that Dorsey had stopped by his residence earlier in the week and had made a comment about wanting to start his own lawn care business.
On Monday, May 30, the victim contacted MCSO and reported that his Craftsman push mower had also been taken from his porch area. The MCSO report indicated that the victim’s total loss was estimated at $779.
On Tuesday, June 14, an MCSO detective responded to Dorsey’s residence and observed a red Craftsman push mower in the yard beside a shed. The shed’s door was open and the detective observed a yellow Poulan pole saw laying in the doorway.
The detective located Dorsey at the residence, and he advised that the home actually belongs to one of his relatives. He confirmed that he has been living at the residence for the past several weeks.
When the detective inquired about the yellow pole saw, Dorsey retrieved it from the shed and handed it to the detective. The detective checked the pole saw’s serial number and verified that it belonged to the victim.
Dorsey told the detective that he found the pole saw and push mower in the woods on his relative’s property. According to the MCSO report, Dorsey then changed his story and advised that he was alone at the residence, became bored, and decided to do some yard work.
Dorsey claimed that he went to the victim’s yard and located the push mower and Poulan saw. He stated that he intended to use the equipment and return it to the victim, but he had not seen the victim for several weeks and assumed that the victim was out of town.
The detective questioned Dorsey about the missing chainsaw and the damage to the victim’s shed. Dorsey denied entering the shed and he also stated that he did not take the chainsaw. He admitted that he was aware of the victim’s two riding lawnmowers that were on the victim’s property, but he also denied stealing the batteries from them.
Dorsey was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $9,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft (over $300 but less than $5,000), along with a misdemeanor charge for criminal mischief (over $200 but under $1,000).
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, July 19 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.