A Leesburg man was arrested for burglary after riding a bicycle into a private yard to take money for cigarettes.
Surveillance cameras at an undisclosed Leesburg residence caught 59-year-old Scott Alan Thompson riding a bicycle into the front yard around 8 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The homeowner watched the footage back to see he walked to a small table on the carport to take $6 or $7 from a wallet and a partial pack of 305 Menthol Shorts cigarettes. He pocketed these items, all while she was inside the house, the report said.
Officers later spotted Thompson riding the bicycle near 7 Stars Discount, located at 2005 W Main St., which was less than a minute from the homeowner’s place. He stopped to smoke a cigarette in front of the business. When confronted about the theft, he stated he took the cash because he needed money for cigarettes, the report said.
A search of his person revealed $3 in his left pants pocket, although the stolen Menthols were not found. Thompson admitted the money in his pocket was taken from the homeowner, the report said.
The report noted there were previous calls for service with the same homeowner where she described similar circumstances to this incident.
Thompson was arrested on charges of petit theft (use with B&E) and burglary (curtilage of occupied dwelling). He was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,500 bond.
Prior thefts include a 12-pack of beer from Wawa in May and a Twisted Tea from Publix in July.