A Lady Lake man accused of taking items from a Fruitland Park hardware store was arrested Saturday while riding a bicycle in Leesburg.
Officers from the Fruitland Park Police Department were called Sept. 23 to the Ace Hardware store at 3431 U.S. Hwy. 27/441, where they were told that a man wearing a red shirt and black cap had taken several items valued at $72.95 from the store. Employees reported that the packaging for the items, which included tools and flashlights, was found inside the toilet tank in the men’s restroom.
The man suspected in the theft, 27-year-old Joseph Corey Lake, was identified by a still photo taken from surveillance video inside the store. He was stopped Saturday while riding his bike near the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and Indian Trail and admitted to taking all of the items except for a socket set, the report says.
Lake also admitted to taking the merchandise into the restroom and removing them from their packages, the report says, adding that when asked where the items were now, he said, “They are gone, someone stole them.”
Lake, who lives at 602 Ray St. in Lady Lake and was given a citation earlier this month in connection with a retail theft from the Family Dollar store in Fruitland Park, was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail. He was charged with larceny/petit theft and held on $1,000 bond. He is due in court Oct. 15 at 8 a.m.
