A 45-year-old man was arrested after he was accused of breaking into a Silver Springs residence, attacking an elderly man inside the home, and stealing the victim’s wallet.
On March 1, 2022, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal responded to a residence on SE 170th Avenue Road in reference to an alleged burglary incident. Upon arrival, the corporal made contact with the elderly victim’s nephew.
The nephew stated that the victim had called him to advise that an unknown male who was “dressed in all white” had broken into the victim’s home, attacked him, and stole his wallet.
The corporal made contact with the elderly victim who stated that when he woke up in his bed, he saw an unknown man standing over him. The victim stated that the man, later identified as Chad Michael German, was wearing a white face covering and was shouting that he “needed money for his son.”
The victim stated that German began punching him on his face and forearms, and then German allegedly walked over to the victim’s dresser, picked up the victim’s wallet, and left the bedroom. According to the victim, the wallet contained $100 in cash and various identification cards.
In the MCSO report, the corporal noted that the victim had no physical signs of injury, and there were no signs of forced entry.
On March 2, 2022, an MCSO detective began investigating the incident. The detective spoke with several of the victim’s family members who stated that the victim is “known to exaggerate things.”
When the detective spoke with the victim, the MCSO report states that the victim made several inconsistent statements about the events on the evening of the incident, and therefore the criminal aspect of the investigation could not be established at that time.
On March 15, 2022, an MCSO corporal responded to the victim’s residence due to another alleged burglary incident. The victim’s daughter had installed surveillance cameras that had allegedly captured German entering the victim’s home at 11:30 p.m. on March 14, 2022.
On the surveillance footage, German appeared to be wearing a white mask and was carrying a flashlight, according to the MCSO report. He allegedly entered the residence through the sliding glass door and proceeded to the victim’s bedroom where the flashlight could be seen illuminating within the bedroom. He then allegedly exited the residence through the same sliding glass door.
The corporal made contact with the victim who stated that another wallet containing $200 in cash had been stolen. When the victim viewed the surveillance footage from the night before, the victim confirmed that it was the same man who had broken into his home on March 1.
The corporal was contacted by the victim’s daughter on March 23, 2022, and she advised that another break-in had been attempted at the victim’s home at approximately 11 p.m. on March 22, 2022.
The victim’s daughter had received a motion alert from the exterior camera that captured the incident. The corporal reviewed the surveillance footage from March 22, 2022, and German was observed outside the victim’s home. He was wearing a black pullover hoodie and did not appear to be wearing gloves or a mask.
On the footage, German attempted to open the sliding glass door without success, and he proceeded to leave the area.
MCSO responded to the victim’s residence and lifted fingerprints from the exterior of the sliding glass door. Additional DNA was lifted from the handle of the sliding glass door and from inside the frame of the sliding glass door.
The corporal located German and questioned him about the burglary incidents. German denied committing the burglary and claimed that he had never been at the victim’s residence.
On September 13, 2022, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement sent the results of the biology report to MCSO which revealed a DNA match to German. The matching DNA swab had been collected from the inside frame of the victim’s sliding glass door, according to the MCSO report.
Several MCSO corporals located German. After being read his Miranda rights, German claimed that one of his acquaintances was responsible for the burglaries.
German told the corporals that he had gone to the victim’s residence on two occasions with the acquaintance, but he claimed that he never went inside. He added that on both occasions, a woman he had met on an online dating app, “Melinda,” had invited him and his acquaintance to the victim’s home.
German admitted that he returned to the victim’s residence “a couple weeks later,” and he claimed that “Melinda” had invited him to “come inside.” He stated that he attempted to open the sliding glass door but was unable to get it open. He then advised that he left the area.
When asked how his DNA had been found inside the victim’s home, German was unable to provide an explanation.
German was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $59,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling (two counts), grand theft of a dwelling over $100 but less than $750 (two counts), and burglary with assault or battery.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.