BY DAN HILDEBRAN
A 39-year-old Lake Butler man was arrested for grand theft, burglary, and dealing in stolen property after a Newberry woman accused him of stealing Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses from her home.
According to a complaint, Dustin Earl Parrish was hired by the Alachua County woman in May to work on her home.
The victim said that Parrish worked in her home while she was there on May 13. However, while she was away the following day, a neighbor spotted the defendant inside the house.
On May 15, the victim reported around $10,000 worth of the luxury merchandise missing from her bedroom.
When contacted by Alachua deputies, the defendant denied taking the handbags and pointed to a co-worker, Patricia Lynn Brandt of Lake Butler, as the possible thief.
The Newberry woman discovered that Brandt sold one of the victim’s Louis Vuitton purses to Lake City Cellular through Facebook Marketplace. The deputy reported that Lake City Cellular acted as an unlicensed pawnbroker in the transaction.
According to the complaint, Brandt told deputies she worked with Parrish on the Newberry renovation and posted the offer on Marketplace while in Parrish’s truck. Brandt added that Parrish told her the property owner owed him money for his labor and implied that the purses were payment. The Lake Butler woman claimed that she didn’t know the items were stolen.
