A 30-year-old man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after he was caught on surveillance footage stealing a riding lawn mower from a local residence.
On Monday, an MCSO deputy responded to the 7700 block of NE 132nd Place in Citra in reference to the theft of a lawn mower. The arrest report stated that the female victim had contacted the sheriff’s office by phone to advise that security cameras on her property had captured the theft.
The victim was out of town at the time of the theft, but she stated that she observed live footage from the security cameras that showed a shirtless white male with blue shorts stealing a red Craftsman T3000 riding lawn mower from her property. The lawn mower was valued at approximately $500, according to the MCSO report.
The victim told the sheriff’s office that she had recently purchased the home, and everything on the property – including the lawn mower – now belonged to her.
While traveling to the incident location, the deputy observed a man matching the description of the theft suspect, and he was riding a red lawn mower down the road near the 7900 block of NE 132nd Place. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the lawn mower and made contact with the man who was identified as Gary Emmor Bebee II, according to the MCSO report.
Bebee told the deputy that he had just picked up the lawn mower from his sister’s property, and he claimed that he had permission to be there to retrieve the lawn mower. The deputy noted in the report that Bebee’s sister had sold the property to the victim, and Bebee claimed to be unaware of the sale.
The MCSO report stated that the deputy spoke with Bebee’s sister over the phone, and she confirmed that the property and lawn mower now belonged to the victim. Additionally, she advised that she had informed Bebee that she no longer owned the property.
The victim provided the deputy with photos of the camera footage from the time of the theft. The deputy noted in the report that Bebee was observed approaching the victim’s residence on a red scooter, and he proceeded to ride off with the lawn mower.
After being read his Miranda rights, Bebee admitted to traveling to the victim’s residence and taking the lawn mower, though he claimed that his sister still owned it. He told the deputy that he was under the impression that the lawn mower had been given to him by his sister in exchange for work that he had previously done on the property, according to the MCSO report.
A criminal history search of Bebee revealed that he has five prior convictions in Marion County for petit theft (2008), grand theft (2012), retail petit theft (2014), grand theft (2015), and petit theft (2016). In addition, he has a conviction in Alachua County for petit theft (2014).
Bebee was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $2,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for second-degree petit theft (third or subsequent offense).
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 5, according to jail records.