A 53-year-old Silver Springs man was arrested over the weekend after he was accused of stealing his neighbor’s leaf blower.
On Saturday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal responded to a residence on NE 170th Court in Silver Springs in reference to a theft incident. Upon arrival, the corporal made contact with the male victim who advised that a man, later identified as Channon Wayne Williams, had stolen his Stihl leaf blower ($150 value) between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., according to the arrest report.
The victim told the corporal that his home surveillance system had captured the incident on video. The corporal watched this footage, which showed Williams entering the victim’s covered carport and taking the leaf blower, according to the MCSO report.
The victim informed the corporal that one of his neighbors had witnessed the theft. The corporal made contact with the eyewitness who advised that Williams had taken the victim’s leaf blower to a nearby residence on E Fort King Street.
The corporal responded to the home on E Fort King Street and made contact with the second eyewitness who advised that Williams had arrived at the residence at around 6:30 a.m. The second eyewitness told the corporal that Williams attempted to sell the victim’s leaf blower for $40, according to the MCSO report.
The second eyewitness advised that he took the leaf blower from Williams in order to check if it was stolen since Williams had a “problem with stealing items in the neighborhood.” The corporal noted in the report that the second eyewitness retrieved the leaf blower from inside his residence, and it was returned to the victim.
The corporal responded to Williams’s residence on NE 170th Court and made contact with him. After being read his Miranda rights, Williams refused to discuss the incident.
A criminal history search of Williams revealed that he has prior convictions for grand theft in 2009 and petit theft in 2016.
Williams was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $12,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure and second-degree petit theft (third or subsequent offense).
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11, according to jail records.