A convicted Leesburg sex offender was arrested Friday afternoon after allegedly stealing a bottle of Jim Bean Honey from the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store on Citrus Boulevard.
A Leesburg police officer was dispatched to the store in response to a report of the theft. The alleged thief was described as wearing a blue shirt and grey shorts. The caller told the officer that the man, later identified as 37-year-old Brandon Ellison was standing across the street form the liquor store in the front of the Fast Stop Superette.
As the officer approached Ellison who spontaneously pointed to a liquor bottle approximately 25 feet from him and told the officer that he had just stolen it, according to the arrest report. After handcuffing Ellison, the officer took him back to the store where the clerk identified as the thief. The clerk told the officer that Ellison had walked up to the counter and announced he was stealing the bottle of liquor.
Ellison was taken to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $2,000 for the third degree felony charge of retail theft. Ellison had been arrested for theft on Aug. 9, and was released on Sept. 1 after being sentenced to time served.
Ellison was convicted of lewd/lascivious battery of a minor between 12 to 16 years of age in 2006. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
