A homeless man has been sentenced to jail time in the theft earlier this year of a golf cart in The Villages.
Brandon Fritzke, 37, was sentenced last week in Lake County Court to 11 months and 29 days in jail after pleading no contest to charges of grand theft and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer in connection with the case.
Fritzke has been lodged at the Lake County Jail since his Feb. 2 arrest by Lady Lake police after he was spotted driving a Ford pickup truck towing a trailer on Tarrson Boulevard on the Historic Side of The Villages. Fritzke claimed he did not possess any identification and said he worked for “Bob’s Golf Carts,” according to an arrest report. He claimed his boss had ordered him to repossess the tan 2008 Yamaha golf cart, which was being towed on the trailer. He did not have any paperwork to back up his claim.
He provided a false identity, but his true identity was revealed when the police officer used a Rapid ID device. The license plate did not match the pickup truck, which did not appear to be registered. The trailer did not have a license plate and its vehicle identification number was unreadable.
During a pat down, the Minnesota native was found to be in possession of “multiple golf cart keys,” the report said.
A handicapped placard on the golf cart led to the owner’s home on Shay Boulevard. The owner was able to positively identify his golf cart, valued at $8,500.
Fritzke had been arrested last year when he was found to be in possession of drugs and a stolen Michigan license plate. He was already on probation at the time he was arrested in the theft of the golf cart.
