A man has been arrested after he allegedly stole items from the home of a man who was a patient at The Villages Regional Hospital.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office detectives have arrested 27-year-old Jefferey Allen Dove and charged him with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft.
Detectives determined that on Jan. 8, Dove unlawfully entered a residence located at the 4900th block of SE 148th Place in Summerfield. On that same day, Dove called 911 claiming to be a concerned citizen who wanted to report a potential burglary because he observed the victim’s home unsecured. During the investigation, detectives found that Dove broke into the house and used the 911 call to cover up his initial crime. Detectives believe that Dove committed the burglary after MCSO deputies left the scene on January 8th and stole nearly $1,400 worth of items, having the knowledge then that the victim was not at home because he was in the hospital.
When the victim was released from the hospital a few days later, Dove approached the victim and returned several of the stolen items. Detectives then discovered that the victim’s neighbor had surveillance video capturing Dove stealing the items from the victim’s home by placing them in a trash can outside the residence and taking it away. Dove admitted to detectives that he returned the stolen items to the victim, claiming that he purchased the items from multiple people in the neighborhood without knowing they were stolen. Dove also admitted that he took the victim’s garbage can but insisted it was filled with trash that he had found in the victim’s yard, not the victim’s belongings.
Dove was booked at the Marion County Jail on $7,000 bond.