A Leesburg man has been arrested after a woman identified him as the suspect who stole her purse a few months ago.
Christopher Allen Brown, 43, was picked out of a photo lineup as the one who stole $67 worth of items from a woman’s car back in August, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
On the morning of Aug. 23, police responded to an auto burglary at 109 Orange Avenue in Leesburg. The victim advised that she parked her red 2018 GMC SUV in the parking lot and got out of her vehicle, leaving the driver’s side door open with her purse in the front seat. As she opened the rear driver’s side door, a man matching Brown’s description ran to her vehicle, reached into the driver’s door and stole her purse worth $40, the report said.
He then ran north on Orange Av with the contents of her purse. This included multiple credit and debit cards, a checkbook, $6 worth of cigarettes, a lighter worth $1, a license, a social security card and a black wallet with $20.00. Officers canvassed the vicinity and found the victim’s cigarettes and a lighter on the street in front of 119 Orange Av. She left the scene before her property could be returned to her, the report said.
Later that day, an officer spoke to the victim over the phone, the report said. She advised that staff at Lake Montessori School, located at 415 North Lee Street, notified her through Facebook that her wallet had been found. The secretary at the school advised that the wallet was located near the fence line by the bike path. The victim’s library card, checkbook and several other cards were still inside the wallet, although a few cards were missing.
The victim retrieved her wallet and its remaining contents. The officer also gave back her cigarettes and lighter. The victim believed she had seen Brown near the parking lot in the past where the incident occurred but could not remember an exact date. After the victim got her wallet, the officer canvassed the bike path but could not find any more of her stolen belongings, the report said.
For several weeks, law enforcement tried to find security footage of the incident with no results while the victim watched her credit card statements for fraudulent activity. Then on Oct. 4, the victim called to inform the officers that she had recently seen Brown in downtown Leesburg. She was able to take a picture of him and emailed it to Leesburg PD, the report said.
The photo was shared with other officers to help identify Brown, and he was found in the area of Herndon and Perkins Street. He advised that he was in Clermont for about a month and arrived last night in Leesburg. He denied taking any purses, the report said.
Brown then stated he did not know how long he was in Clermont. He advised that a man who lived on McNamee Street took him to Clermont and returned him to Leesburg, but he did not know the man’s name. As Brown spoke, he changed his statement multiple times and was reluctant to provide any information, the report said.
On Oct. 6, a photo lineup was assembled for the victim to review. She arrived at Leesburg PD and was escorted to an interview room to see the lineup. She selected the second photo, which was later confirmed to match Brown. Because of this, probable cause was established for his arrest, and he was taken in that day from 1200 West Main Street, the report said.
Brown was charged with petit theft (from vehicle – less than $750) and burglary (auto or other conveyance). He was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $7,500.
