An Ocala man accused of stealing a brand-new washer and dryer from a vacant apartment in Leesburg told police he bought the appliances for $25 from a homeless couple.
Police responded around 7 a.m. Tuesday to a residential complex after a resident reported a possible burglary. The resident told an officer the apartment next door to his was vacant and had recently received a new washer and dryer that were still packaged in cardboard boxes, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The neighbor said he saw a blue or green Ford Ranger with gold lining on the bottom traveling northbound on Tuskegee Street with two boxes in the truck bed that looked like the two in the vacant apartment. He then saw the apartment door was open and the washer and dryer were missing, the report said.
While the officer and the neighbor were talking, a blue Ford traveled past and was confirmed to be the same one observed earlier. The officer found the vehicle in front of a nearby residence with a man standing next to it. Also visible was a cardboard box with a white washing machine inside it, according to the report.
The man next to the truck was identified as 36-year-old Benjamin Lamar Thomas, who said he bought the washer about a half hour earlier from a man on a bicycle, the report said.
Thomas told the officer the man flagged him down and said he had a new washer and dryer that he would sell for $20. Thomas said the man was accompanied by a woman and they both appeared to be homeless, according to the report.
Thomas said he inspected the items and they appeared to be new, and the boxes had no damage to them. Due to the new packaging and cheap price, he agreed to pay the asking price plus an extra $5 because of how good the deal was. Thomas paid the man and took the appliances, the report said.
When asked if the situation appeared suspicious and if the property could possibly be stolen, Thomas stated “wherever he gets it from, ain’t my business.” He said when the man offered him the appliances, he thought it was a good deal and that his mother could use them, the report said.
Both items were recovered by the police and Thomas was charged with theft (dealing in stolen property). He was taken to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.
