An elderly homeless man was arrested on a burglary charge after an Ocala police officer allegedly caught him rummaging through a pickup truck that was parked outside a local auto repair shop.
Shortly after 1:50 a.m. on Thursday, October 9, an Ocala Police Department officer was traveling past a closed business, Muffler Man (1851 S Pine Avenue), when a man – later identified as 71-year-old Theodore Roosevelt Preston III – was observed near a parked Dodge pickup truck, according to the arrest report.
The officer noted that the pickup truck’s front door was open, and Preston was allegedly “rummaging through [the vehicle].”
According to the report, the officer entered the auto repair shop’s parking lot and observed that the pickup truck’s door was closed. Preston was allegedly standing in front of the vehicle, and he began putting on a backpack and grabbing a nearby bicycle as the officer approached him.
Preston allegedly told the officer that the pickup truck did not belong to him, and he claimed he was “just sitting in it.” The officer detained Preston in handcuffs.
After being read his Miranda rights, Preston stated that the pickup truck belonged to the owners of the auto repair shop. He claimed that the owners knew that he was homeless and that he “stayed in the vehicle,” according to the report.
The officer mentioned in the report that Preston eventually admitted that he did not know the owner of the pickup truck.
The report stated that the registered owner of the pickup truck spoke with an officer and advised that they did not know Preston, adding that Preston was not given permission to be inside the vehicle.
Preston was placed under arrest and booked into Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
Marion County Court records show that Preston is being represented by a public defender. He has entered a written plea of “not guilty,” and he is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 12.