An Ocala man is facing felony burglary and theft charges after local authorities linked him to the theft of $500 worth of paint from a construction site.
On Sunday, March 29, a witness informed the Marion County Sheriff’s Office that a man had stolen “two paint buckets” from a home under construction on SW 46th Terrace in Ocala, according to the arrest report.
The witness captured the incident on video, which reportedly showed the male suspect – later identified as 49-year-old Yunior Estrada Bermejo – entering the home’s attached garage before allegedly taking the two buckets of paint.
Estrada Bermejo then allegedly placed the stolen paint into a silver SUV before driving away from the construction site, according to the report.
An MCSO deputy contacted the painting company that had been contracted to paint the new home, and a representative advised that “no one had permission to remove paint” from the incident location. Each paint bucket was reportedly valued at approximately $250.
During an ensuing investigation, MCSO identified Estrada Bermejo as the suspect in this case, and a corporal made contact with Estrada Bermejo at his residence on Tuesday, April 21.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Estrada Bermejo was shown the video footage provided by the witness. Estrada Bermejo allegedly “confessed it was him” before pointing to two empty paint buckets that were outside his home, according to the report.
Estrada Bermejo reportedly told the corporal that on the day of the incident, he was “driving around” when he “saw the paint buckets in the garage.” He allegedly stated that he “walked inside of the garage and took them.”
The corporal placed Estrada Bermejo under arrest and booked him into Marion County Jail, where he remains in custody. His bond has been set at $5,000, and he is being charged with grand theft of property from a dwelling and unarmed burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.
A court date for Estrada Bermejo has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.