BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
STARKE— A Lawtey man was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading to three cases of dealing in stolen property.
Lester Wannis Walker, 47, pleaded no contest to the three offenses that occurred on Jan. 13, Feb. 9 and Feb. 22.
In the Jan. 13 offense, Bradford deputies assisted the Clay County Sheriff’s office with the theft of an ATV just north of the Bradford-Clay County line near Highland.
Clay deputies followed the tracks of the stolen four-wheeler to the residence of their defendants.
Two defendants in the theft told deputies that the ATV was on Walker’s property, and the mobile phone of one defendant revealed messages to and from Walker discussing the stolen vehicle.
In addition to finding the stolen ATV at Walker’s residence, deputies also discovered a second ATV on which the serial-VIN numbers had been removed.
In the Feb. 9 offense, deputies located at Walker’s residence, a water pump and gasoline can that had been stolen from a construction site.
A defendant who deputies say stole the items claimed his partner in the theft sold the pump and can to Walker.
In the Feb. 22 offense, Bradford deputies assisted Gainesville police with the theft of a van and trailer from a Gainesville business.
During an interview with Bradford deputies, a man admitted to stealing the items and added that he sold the vehicle and trailer to Walker for $300.
Deputies located the trailer, valued at $7,000, at Walker’s residence.
In all three cases, Walker told deputies he did not know the property was stolen and that the items were at his residence because he planned to repair them.
Walker also has one case that is yet to be adjudicated.
According to a warrant affidavit filed by Bradford deputies, around Oct. 8, Walker stole a 2001, red, Ford two-door from a Lawtey woman and sold it to a Lake City salvage business for $158.60. According to the affidavit, Walker fraudulently completed a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles form to falsely claim ownership of the vehicle.
