A homeless man was captured in The Villages after allegedly barging into a woman’s home and trying to steal her purse.
The 78-year-old woman said she was at her home at about 3 p.m. Friday when the man knocked on her door and pushed his way inside, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. Once inside, the man dumped out the woman’s purse on a table and began looking for her car keys. The woman immediately grabbed her purse, prompting a tug-of-war battle between herself and the homeless man. She successfully fought for her purse and pushed the man out her front her door.
She provided a description of the man to police, including the fact he had blood running down his face, possibly from a prior injury.
Officers canvassed the immediate area and Officer Andru Eckerdt, who was honored earlier this year by the FBI in an unrelated case, found the man, later identified as 53-year-old Craig Steven Johnson, near a home on St. Andrews Boulevard on the Historic Side of The Villages.
Johnson said he was “running from law enforcement” because he was facing an accusation that he “raped a 12-year-old boy,” according to the arrest report. Johnson claimed he was at Home Depot when he spotted a police officer and fled the store through the garden section.
Johnson said he traveled through the woods and ultimately reached the woman’s home where he requested to use the woman’s phone “or to get a ride,” the report said. The Michigan native, who stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 200 pounds, admitted he had pushed his way into her home and grabbed the woman’s purse.
He is facing felony charges of robbery, burglary and battery on a person over the age of 65. He was being held at the Lake County Jail on $40,000 bond.