A suspect attempted to blame his brother in the theft of $1,000 worth of paint at Lowe’s in Lady Lake.
A total of $1,023 worth of paint was stolen from the store on Sept. 5. The suspect was captured on video surveillance with a cartload of paint near the self-checkout before he quickly left the store without paying for the merchandise, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sherif’s Office. The suspect got into a white Ford van. A detective tracked down the van, whose owner identified a man “who works for him on occasion,” the report said. The van’s owner said he would bring in that individual to meet with the detective.
Emil Joseph Aprea, 51, of Silver Springs, showed up Wednesday at the sheriff’s office at Pinellas Plaza in The Villages. However, rather than reveal his true identity, Aprea provided his brother’s name and date of birth. When he was being booked at the Sumter County Detention Center, a fingerprint scanner revealed his true identity and that he was on felony probation in Marion County.
The New Jersey native was arrested on charges of theft and fraud. Due to the probation violation, he was booked without bond.
