An 83-year-old Villager has high praise for the Lady Lake police officers who have reunited her with her stolen golf cart.
Elizabeth Granger of the Village of Mira Mesa bought the refurbished golf cart in 2003.
Her 25-year-old granddaughter had driven the golf cart to Fiesta Bowl on the night of Aug. 25 and left it there overnight. When she returned in the morning to retrieve it, the golf cart was gone.
Two days later, Lady Lake police called Granger and asked her to drive to the Historic Side of The Villages and identify her golf cart.
“I was thrilled to see that golf cart again. I didn’t think I would,” she said.
The thief had scratched off the vehicle identification number. The thief had also scratched off Granger’s name and her late husband’s name on the front of the golf cart.
On Wednesday, Granger went down to the Lady Lake Police Department to identify the golf cart enclosure and basket the thief had taken.
Donald Selby of the Village of Country Club Hills was at Beall’s last week when his golf cart was stolen.
It was adorned with Penn State stickers.
His golf cart was stripped of its enclosure, wheels and other items. The thief had also peeled off the Penn State stickers.
“It’s in sad shape,” Selby said.
But those Penn State stickers helped nabbed the suspected thief.
His stripped golf cart had been discovered by police at 1013 Parker Drive, the site where a mobile home had recently been removed and a new home is being built. The golf cart was found by a dumpster. It was clearly visible where the Penn State stickers had been removed, according to the police report.
On Tuesday, Lady Lake officers went to a home at 424 Tarrson Blvd. on the Historic Side of The Villages and arrested a suspect in the golf cart thefts — 29-year-old Joseph D. Robinson.
While there, Robinson had been observed pushing a woman onto a bed as they were arguing.
He is being held at the Lake County Jail on $15,000 bond on charges of battery and dealing in stolen property.
During the course of the investigation, the stripped off Penn State stickers had been spotted by police officers on the ground at the Tarrson Boulevard residence. Police observed that golf carts were being dismantled at the property, police reports indicated.
Granger said the police work in the case was incredible.
“It’s good to know they are out there doing what they are doing,” she said. “It makes you feel safe.”
