A man was arrested and charged with a felony after allegedly stealing around $20 in coins from a University of North Florida student’s car on March 31, according to police reports.
The man, 18, was on campus with another individual collecting signatures for a political petition.
According to the man’s Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office booking report, the victim parked his car in the UNF arena parking garage and left it with its windows down. The victim discovered that around $20 in change was missing from his center console when he returned at around 3 p.m.
According to police reports, surveillance video shows the man and another petition circulator park their car next to the victim’s at 12:53 p.m. The two circulators parted ways and then at around 2 p.m., the man returned to the parking garage alone. Video shows that the man reached into the victim’s car and interacted with the center console before he left the garage.
Later that afternoon, UNF police found the petition circulator who drove with the suspect to campus who helped them convince the suspect to return to the scene. When he arrived, police detained him. According to reports, at this point, the suspect did not have any stolen property on him.
When police asked the man about entering the victim’s car, he said he mistook the victim’s car for his co-worker’s and did not take anything.
The man is being charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, a third-degree felony, according to the JSO booking report. His bond is set at $20,003.
Spinnaker reached out to the man’s co-worker who drove with him to campus and reached out to the petition organization police said the two circulators work for, but has not received a response from either.
To report information regarding this crime, contact the UNF police department at 904-620-2800. Make anonymous reports with UPD’s Silent Witness Program. For advice from UPD on how to stay safe on campus, visit unfspinnaker.com
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