A Leesburg man was arrested for stealing a shed from a neighboring property.
Leesburg police officers had been dispatched to a residence located in the 900 block of Edmunds Street when the owner reported a theft. The owner told the police that he had received a call from a neighbor lady who had seen two men stealing a plastic shed from the vacant rental property at about 3 a.m. the morning of Feb. 13. The victim went to the rental residence and found the shed missing along with tools stored within the shed. He valued the shed and tools at $2,000.
Leesburg police officers made contact with the neighbor lady who had seen the theft. She told them that she had heard a loud pounding noise and saw two men removing the shed so she texted the victim. She then confronted the men and told them to leave the property and that she was going to call law enforcement. She saw them going back to 603 Lee Street. When the officers made contact with the victim he was told that some of the panels from the shed could be seen in the backyard of the house located at 603 Lee St. which adjoins the backyard of the Edmunds Street property. The police were unable to locate anyone at that address.
A Leesburg detective was assigned to the case. When the detective examined the crime scene he found one plastic shed panel still on the property. He noted in his report that the backyard was enclosed by a chain link fence which meant that in order to enter the backyard you would have to climb the fence or open a gate. The detective then went to the Lee Street house where he interviewed a man sitting on the back porch. He told the detective he did not know anything about the shed panels and that he did not live at the Lee Street house. He said that 48-year-old Geoffrey Israel Sweeney was the tenant but that he was not home. The detective gave the man his card and was called by Sweeney on Feb. 15. Sweeney admitted to taking the shed but he said he had talked to the previous tenant who said he could have the shed. The previous tenant denied having any conversation about the shed with Sweeney.
The victim called the detective and told him that he suspected that Sweeney had run an extension cord from the Edmunds property to the Lee Street property as the cord between the properties was sending electricity to where Sweeney was staying.
The detective obtained an arrest warrant charging Sweeney with grand theft and burglary to the curtilage of a dwelling. Sweeney was taken into custody on Monday afternoon by Lake County deputies and was transported to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $12,000.
