A 23-year-old employee of the Marion County School Board has been charged with pawning off school equipment to feed his drug habit.
Michael Stephen Ziebart III was arrested Tuesday evening by Ocala Police Department detectives.
He is charged with dealing in stolen property and violation of the Florida Pawn Broker’s Act – a total of 41 charges.
Ziebart was a wiring technician with the school district, earning $32,000 per year.
On Friday, a representative of Mark’s Jewelry & Pawn contacted the school district to inquire as to whether a program existed for employees to purchase used equipment from them.
Ziebart pawned two projectors on Friday and one still had the packaging receipt inside the box.
The manager of the electronics department of the school district confirmed the equipment as belonging to MCSB and Ziebart not having permission to take or pawn them. The incident was then reported to the Ocala Police Department and upon investigation, it was found that Ziebart had pawned several items at various pawn shops in the city and county since September of 2013.
The items pawned were not only equipment belonging to the MCSB, but also firearms that had been stolen from Ziebart’s uncle.
On Tuesday, Ziebart turned himself in at the Ocala Police Department. He confirmed pawning the items in question without the permission of the owners. He advised that this was done to fund a drug habit.
In total, Ziebart received 41 charges in 20 cases. He received a total of $2,875 for pawning items with an estimated total value of $11,300. His bond was set at $230,000.
Ziebart’s employment with the Marion County School Board, which is still in the probationary period, is in the process of being terminated. The investigation is continuing and further charges are pending.