An 81-year-old Villager had more than $50,000 worth of jewelry stolen when she was moved earlier this year to Freedom Pointe.
The woman purchased her unit at Freedom Pointe this past November for $342,600. She moved in to Freedom Pointe in January. In February, she contacted the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office to report that $50,000 worth of jewelry and about $500 in cash were missing.
She initially told deputies she suspected the staff at Freedom Pointe stole her jewelry. However, after thoroughly questioning the staff, a detective determined that none of them was the culprit.
The woman then suggested it might have been one of the movers who transported her items to Freedom Pointe.
The moving company owner provided the names of the employees who had handled the woman’s moving job. The detective found that one of the employees, 35-year-old John Lorenzo Fields Jr. of Ocala, “had a lengthy pawn transaction history,” according to an arrest report. The detective found that Fields had pawned about 20 pieces of women’s jewelry at Walt’s Pawn and Gun in Ocala, shortly after the woman’s move to Freedom Pointe.
When the detective called Fields, he initially denied any knowledge of the missing jewelry. When confronted with the pawning information, Fields admitted he “may have picked up a few things.”
A warrant was issued for Fields’ arrest on a charge of grand theft of more than $50,000 from a person over the age of 65.
He was picked up earlier this month in Lake County. He remains free on $10,000 bond.
