A 63-year-old Ocala man was arrested after he stole a UPS package that contained approximately $2,500 worth of computer equipment.
On Wednesday, June 8, a female victim contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to report the theft of her computer equipment. The victim advised that she works for an out-of-state company that had shipped her the following items so she could work from home: two Dell desktop monitors, a tower modem, a mouse, two keyboards, a web camera, a headphone and microphone set, and various cables and wires.
According to the victim, she received confirmation on Friday, June 3 that the package had been delivered by UPS. When she returned home, the package was nowhere to be found.
The victim stated that a UPS employee contacted her and advised that the delivery driver had become confused when looking for the victim’s address, and the package was physically handed to her neighbor, Brent Brook Duffy.
The victim told MCSO that she lives with a male relative. Shortly after the package went missing, the victim’s relative received a call from Duffy asking if he wanted to buy a computer. The relative thought the call was suspicious and agreed to stop by Duffy’s residence to look at the computer.
After looking at the computer equipment, the victim’s relative paid Duffy an $80 deposit to take possession of it, and the equipment was brought back to the victim’s residence. When the monitor was turned on, the victim’s profile was set up and she was able to log into the computer with the password that was provided by her employer.
On Monday, June 20, an MCSO corporal responded to Duffy’s residence, located him, and transported him to the MCSO south district office for a recorded interview. Duffy stated that the UPS package belonging to the victim was delivered to a nearby vacant home.
Duffy claimed that the package sat in front of the vacant home for three days, and no one from UPS returned to retrieve it. He stated that he proceeded to take the package and he was aware that it did not belong to him.
During the interview, Duffy told the corporal that he was “desperate” because he had not received his food stamps for several months and he did not have any money for food. He admitted that he had attempted to sell the computer equipment to make money.
Duffy was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $7,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for grand theft (over $300 but less than $5,000) and dealing in stolen property.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.