BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Thomas Cole Smith, 27, of Starke, was sentenced to four years with the Department of Corrections after pleading to burglary, attempted grand theft, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, a probation violation and grand theft.
According to an arrest report, one witness told deputies she observed Smith and a co-defendant attempting to remove a motor from a boat parked in the backyard of a Southeast 21st Avenue home, between Starke and Theressa.
The co-defendant told the witness that he obtained permission from a family member of the boat’s owner to take the outboard.
The witness said she went home to get her cell phone, call the police, and notify family members about the encounter. When she returned to the scene, she saw another family member and deputies looking for Smith, who had run into the woods after being confronted.
Deputies later located the co-defendant at a County Road 225 residence and Smith on a County Road 100A property. Smith told deputies it was the co-defendant’s idea to steal the motor.
Smith’s prior convictions include petit theft, molesting a vending machine, driving with a suspended or revoked license, disorderly conduct, grand theft of a firearm, pawnbroker transaction fraud, possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
