A 19-year-old Ocala man has been arrested for grand theft after he allegedly stole hundreds of dollars’ worth of rebar and plastic from a local construction site to use at his own job site.
The theft occurred on Friday, January 24, at a construction site located in the 5600 block of SW 161st Place in Ocala, according to the arrest report.
A male victim informed the Marion County Sheriff’s Office that the construction materials, which included $1,700 worth of rebar and plastic, had been delivered on the property earlier in the day on January 24. However, when the victim went to the construction site, he observed that the materials were gone.
On Monday, January 27, the victim contacted MCSO to advise that the stolen materials had been returned to the construction site. In addition, the victim advised that video surveillance footage from a nearby residence captured the initial theft incident, according to the report.
An MCSO corporal noted in the report that the video footage showed a white truck arriving at the construction site at around 11:05 a.m. on January 24. After parking near the delivered materials, two individuals exited the truck and loaded the materials into the bed of the vehicle.
The victim told the corporal that he recognized the truck because it “has damage on the driver’s side[,] just above the back driver side tire.” The corporal conducted an investigation, which revealed that the truck belonged to a man named Erik Armando Loera.
During a phone interview with the corporal, Loera allegedly confessed to stealing the materials from the construction site in Ocala. He claimed that he “needed [the materials] for a job site” that he oversaw, and he added that he was awaiting his shipment of materials for that job.
Loera allegedly told the corporal that he was “going to replace the material(s) he stole” once his shipment was delivered.
In the report, the corporal said that Loera was aware that he did not have permission from anyone to take the materials from the construction site. The corporal also stated that Loera “appeared to be remorseful.”
Loera was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail. He was released the following day after posting bond, and he is facing a charge of grand theft (over $5,000 but less than $10,000).
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.