A Villager’s son has been arrested on multiple charges after allegedly stealing merchandise at stores at Lady Lake Crossing.
A K-9 unit checked two backpacks that were left abandoned next to some bicycles on the sidewalk outside Dollar Tree at the shopping plaza around 5:10 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. One of these backpacks, which belonged to 45-year-old Richard Brown Street, was believed to contain narcotics.
As the K-9 unit finished, Street and another man came out of the nearby store and indicated the bags belonged to them. A subsequent search of Street’s bag yielded his ID and a syringe with 0.31 grams of methamphetamine, the report said.
The backpack also contained several items from nearby stores that Street was seen going into before talking to law enforcement. He came out of those stores without any signs of bags or receipts. Street subsequently admitted to stealing several things from the nearby stores, the report said.
He had taken four items worth $236.88 from Sportsman’s Warehouse, three items worth $19 from Five Below and eight items worth $73.92 from ACE Hardware. He pointed out what he had stolen and where they had come from, the report said.
A check of Street’s criminal history revealed he had six prior convictions for theft: three in 2020, one in 2021, one in 2024 and one in 2025, the report said.
Street was ultimately arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and three counts of petit theft. He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $15,000.
He has a long history of theft. He was arrested in Nov. 2024 after being caught with a bicycle stolen from Walmart. He told police he tried to steal items at Best Buy because he had no job in 2021. He was arrested twice in 2020, during July at Walmart and during February for stealing his mother’s vehicle. He was also arrested in Nov. 2021 for another attempted heist at Walmart.