A suspect was arrested on burglary and theft charges after allegedly stealing personal items from a vehicle and leaving on his bicycle.
The Lake County Communications Center received a call from a passerby who saw a man, later identified as 32-year-old Vincent Mantey Merritt, get off his bicycle and enter the driveway of an undisclosed Montverde residence around 7:29 p.m. May 29, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The witness stated he saw Merritt get into what he believed to be a black vehicle parked at the end of the driveway. As he exited the vehicle and got back on the bicycle, the witness provided the direction of travel, the report said.
Merritt, who matched the description given by the witness, was stopped as he was riding a bicycle in front of 18321 County Road 455. The witness provided a positive identification on Merritt as the man who entered the vehicle, the report said.
Contact was made with the victim’s father due to the victim being at work, and the victim provided a verbal intent to prosecute over the phone. He stated that he did not know Merritt and never gave him consent to enter his vehicle nor take any of the victim’s property from inside the vehicle, the report said.
A search of Merritt’s person revealed several items that were identified by the victim as his property. The total value of the items equaled about $6, the report said.
The report noted the vehicle was parked in a driveway behind another vehicle over 100 feet from the roadway.
The deputy on scene read Merritt his rights, and Merritt waived them. He denied entering the vehicle and stated the property found on him was bought for him by an unknown woman at a gas station. However, he could not give an exact time, the report said.
Merritt was subsequently arrested on charges of burglary to unoccupied conveyance and petit theft (under $750). He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $5,500.