BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
LAKE BUTLER— Union deputies arrested a man on Friday, Feb. 11 after they said they caught him burglarizing a truck northeast of Lake Butler and later tied the man to two additional break-ins the same night.
Jeremy Luke Powell, 37, was arrested for four counts of burglary and one count each of vehicle theft and petit theft
According to arrest reports, deputies were first called to a Northeast 111th Way address, east of Butler Lake.
There they spoke to a woman who told them she walked to her barn at 6:30 a.m. to do her chores.
While in the barn she saw a man beside a trailer dressed in camouflage with a face covering. She screamed and heard the man say, “I’m sorry,” before he ran off.
The victim and her husband noted that within the trailer, the offender drank a Dunkin’ Doughnuts drink and breakfast bars. They also discovered a sandwich bag containing $50 in cash missing from the trailer.
The officers, with the aid of a Florida Fish and Wildlife tracking dog and a trail cam found the suspect at a home on Northeast 181st Place. Deputies wrote in an arrest report that they found Powell leaning against a black 1996 Dodge.
While deputies were talking to Powell, the owner of the Dodge emerged from his home and told the lawmen Powell had no reason nor permission to be on his property. The resident then discovered that his shed had been rummaged through, in addition to the vehicle. Officers then added burglary charges for the property on 181st Place.
Deputies said that while searching for Powell, they ran across an abandoned red, Chevrolet truck, parked behind Varnes Cemetery. They found on Powell’s person keys that fit the ignition of the Chevrolet, and the owner of the truck reported the vehicle stolen while deputies were interviewing Powell.
