A homeless man was arrested after allegedly snatching jewelry at the Belk store in The Villages.
Joe Tarpley, 67, was spotted by security personnel at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the store at La Plaza Grande when he took two rings and a watch and attempted to leave the store without paying for them, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. He returned the stolen watch, but denied having any other merchandise. He fled the store on a blue mountain bike. When officers stopped him, he was found to be in possession of the two rings, which had a combined value of $98.29.
Tarpley has an “extensive criminal past” with arrests in 1976, 2007, 2011 and 2014 in Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
He was arrested on a charge of theft and booked at the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond. He was also told not to return to Belk.
