A Leesburg man is accused of kicking his way into his estranged girlfriend’s home in Tavares and stealing a laptop computer and iPhone.
Horatio Demon Brown, 27, of 32424 Quiet Harbor Ave., was charged with unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling and grand theft of between $300 and $5,000.
Tavares Police responded around 9:14 a.m. Sunday to the victim’s residence on Merry Road, where she said Brown kicked in the rear sliding glass door and picked up several items and threw them to the ground, causing them to shatter, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said Brown went into a bedroom where her mother is staying and removed a black Dell laptop computer. She said he also took an iPhone 8 with a pink phone case. The victim estimated the value of the items at over $1,000, the report said.
The victim said she and Brown ended their romantic relationship around March 20 and Brown moved out of the home. She said she took all of his belongings except a large couch to his mother’s house and dropped them off. The victim said Brown was not invited to her residence and had not made arrangements to return for the couch, according to the report.
The victim’s mother told the officer she was in her bedroom when she heard the back glass door break. She said Brown then forced his way into her bedroom, where she and the victim were sitting. The victim’s mother said Brown took her phone from the dresser and went into her daughter’s room, where she took the victim’s laptop and tried to take a television, the report said.
The victim’s mother said she and the victim were able to stop Brown from taking the television, but he took the remote and smashed it to the ground. Both the victim and her mother provided sworn written statements, according to the report.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies located Brown and took him to the Lake County Jail. After being read his Miranda warning, Brown told the officer he still lived at the incident location and the victim still had clothing as well as a car key and title to his vehicle, the report said.
Brown grew increasingly upset and said he no longer wished to speak to the officer. He was released later in the day on $17,000 bond. No court information was available.
