Monitor Editor
STARKE— A Starke man was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading on Jan. 26 to charges associated with the attempted thefts of copper and air conditioning parts.
Brandon Adrian Nelson, 28, pleaded no contest to the May 13, 2021, offenses of dealing in stolen property, trespassing and criminal mischief. He also pleaded no contest to the Dec. 13 offenses of burglary, possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief.
In December Nelson was sentenced to six days in jail and a year of probation for the May 26, 2021, offenses of burglary, possession of burglary tools and resisting an officer.
In that offense, Lawtey police responded to a suspicious person report at a U.S. 301 motel. When an officer arrived, the defendant climbed through a window and fled from police.
During his Jan. 26 sentencing, the defendant’s probation was terminated.
The May 13 incident revolved around the break-in of a materials operation near the Bradford County Industrial Park on South Water Street and the Bradford elementary school now under construction on Southeast 144th Street.
According to an arrest report, the defendant was seen on surveillance video where a fence was cut. Starke police also found evidence of a large roll of copper stolen from the business.
The Dec. 13 offense involved the attempted theft of discarded air conditioning parts.
According to an arrest report, the owner of an air conditioning and refrigeration company caught the defendant trespassing in a field owned by his company. The field contained old air conditioning parts and is located off State Road 16, near the Clay County line.
