Crime Solved Quickly

Because the victims were proactive problem solvers.

And because the criminal was a dumb-ass. Which frankly are the best kind.

OCALA - Last Thursday, Fred and Betty McAteers were victims of a senseless, heartless crime when vandals tipped over a huge headstone for family members buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

This week, the McAteers were victimized again, when they arrived at a home they own only to find it had been ransacked and furniture stolen.
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They left and returned Tuesday morning and called police. They then decided to walk around the neighborhood to see if they could find anyone who might have some knowledge about the break-in.

When they walked up to a five-unit apartment building, they saw their wooden dresser sitting on the front lawn.

They called the Ocala police again, and detectives arrested 22-year-old Branden Mitchell Gardiner and charged him with one count of residential burglary and one count of dealing in stolen property.

Yep. Most of our criminals are not masterminds. But most of our thieves take their stolen booty out of the neighborhood before selling.