A 48-year-old Ocklawaha man was arrested after stealing a generator from the Florida Horse Park in Ocala.
On October 14, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the Florida Horse Park (11008 S Highway 475) in reference to a recent theft.
A park employee advised that between the hours of 4:00 p.m. on October 13 and 9:30 a.m on October 14, a man later identified as Julio Cesar Perez-Lopez stole a diesel generator that was attached to a trailer near the entrance.
The trailer had a tracker on it, and this led deputies to a residence on 10795 SW 140th Avenue in Dunnellon.
Deputies were able to locate the Dunellon property’s owner at his place of employment. The owner advised that his property has video surveillance, and the deputies watched the surveillance footage.
At around 10:00 a.m. on October 14, the footage showed a white truck driven by Perez-Lopez pulling into the driveway. He exited the vehicle, opened the gate, and then drove the vehicle and trailer to the southeast corner of the property.
Lopez-Perez detached the trailer from the truck and drove off ten minutes later, securing the gate when he left.
Around an hour later, he returned to the Dunnellon residence, reattached the trailer to his truck, and drove away.
On October 16, a deputy observed a black pickup truck traveling southbound in the 6600 block of SW 19th Avenue Road in Ocala. A quick search of the license plate revealed that it was stolen.
A traffic stop was conducted at the intersection of S Highway 441 and SE 92nd Place. Lopez-Perez was the sole occupant of the truck.
Lopez-Perez spoke with the deputy and admitted to stealing the generator, and he confirmed that the stolen tag belonged to the Florida Horse Park trailer.
He informed the deputy that his minor daughter recently moved to America, and his daughter was not getting along with the other girls at his home.
He stated that he intended to buy an RV for his minor daughter to live inside, and he was going to sell the generator so that the funds could be used as a down payment on the RV.
Lopez-Perez was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail. He posted bond and is facing a felony larceny charge.
No court date has been scheduled yet, according to jail records.