The concrete designer who attempted earlier this week to chase down the “bicycle bandit” in the Haciendas of Mission Hills thought he might have a lead on another crime.
David Chambers of GO Concrete Designs on Monday afternoon joined a Villages woman in a chase of a man on a bicycle suspected of stealing UPS packages from the woman’s doorstep.
While they were not successful, Chambers managed to shoot a photo of the suspect which he turned over to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday afternoon, deputies arrested Jason Friend, 26, of Lady Lake. He is facing charges of burglary and grand theft, both felonies.
Chambers later saw a sketch released by Lady Lake police of a suspect in a Dec. 1 armed robbery at Gator’s Dockside restaurant in Spanish Springs Town Square.
He felt so strongly that it matched the “bicycle bandit’s” appearance that he contacted Lady Lake police and went in and viewed video surveillance footage from the restaurant.
But there is no match.
“The bicycle bandit is not a suspect in the Gator’s Dockside robbery at this time,” said Lady Lake Police Chief Chris McKinstry.
