Serial trespasser returns to Publix at Shoppes of Lake Village despite ban

A Leesburg man known as a serial trespasser was arrested for returning to Shoppes of Lake Village despite being banned in a sentencing last month. 

Christopher Carl Emery, 37, was charged with trespass after warning when he was spotted at the shopping plaza Saturday evening. He was ordered not to return to Publix and Shoppes of Lake Village, located at 10601 U.S. Highway 441, as part of his sentence on Oct. 27. In that case, he was arrested for attempting to steal a premade sub and a fountain drink from the same Publix store early in October. 

On Saturday around 7:50 p.m., police responded to the shopping plaza regarding a suspicious person, later identified as Emery, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The complainant advised a man matching Emery’s description was walking around the plaza, and he had been trespassed from the property before. 

Upon arrival, the officer recognized Emery from previous interactions and confirmed his identity. Emery then stated he walked to Advance Auto Parts to meet with a female friend to ask for money. When asked if he had been trespassed from the plaza, he responded that he had only been trespassed from Publix, the report said. 

However, a check revealed that while Emery was indeed trespassed from the grocery store on Oct. 2, he was also trespassed from the entire plaza the same day. Additionally, an officer responded to the plaza on Nov. 3 regarding a suspicious person. She found Emery on the property and issued him a citation for trespass after warning before releasing him on his own recognizance, the report said.  

This information led the officer to arrest Emery on charge of trespass after warning. He was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $1,000.