Cops Corner: Stealing air time

Also in Cops: Smile for the camera


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July 3

Stealing air time

9:47 a.m. — 19 Smokehouse Place, Palm Coast

Burglary, grand theft, criminal mischief. Someone ripped the exterior parts from an air conditioning unit at a newly constructed home over the weekend of June 30 to July 3.

The theft and damage were estimated at over $4,000. 

The thief stole a condenser valued at $2,500, an air handler valued at $1,500 and a heat coil valued at $400, according to an incident report. The contractor said the wiring where the unit was ripped out would also need to be replaced.

The Sheriff’s Office deputy who responded to the scene did not find any evidence pointing to a suspect, though a neighbor noted the unit missing on July 1. The temperature that weekend rose into the low 90s.


June 29

Smile for the camera

10:44 p.m. — 100 block of Flagler Plaza Drive, Flagler County

Grand theft. A woman staying at a local hotel reported her purse stolen from the hotel’s breakfast bar.

A Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the call and interviewed the woman, who said she realized she’d left her purse in the breakfast area and returned for it immediately only to find it missing, according to an arrest report. 

The woman’s purse contained an iPhone, checkbooks, credit cards and cash.

The deputy interviewed the employee manning the area. When the deputy asked the employee about the cameras in the room, the employee said night shift staff did not have access to the system, and she was “unsure if the camera systems even work.”

Four days later, the manager of the hotel provided the deputy with surveillance footage of the theft, which showed the employee from that night taking the purse and hiding it when the victim came looking. The employee was arrested and charged with grand theft.

 

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