An off-duty police officer saw something suspicious outside Childs Ace Hardware about dawn Saturday and called Orange police. They arrested a man attempting to steal a riding mower.
Detective Captain Robert Enmon said the man told officers he had also taken another riding mower from outside the business a few days earlier. Police have recovered both Scag-brand mowers. The business is owned by Orange City Councilor Brad Childs.
Enmon said the off-duty officer is from another agency. Orange patrol officers went at 6:08 a.m. Saturday to the 3300 block of Bob Hall Road, which runs behind the hardware store, and saw a man with the mower.
51-year-old Robert Dale Johnson of West Orange was arrested and is facing theft charges.
KOGT.com archives show Johnson was arrested outside Tractor Supply Co. one night in June 2015. An alarm notified police and they found power tools and Johnson in the parking lot. In August 2015, Johnson was arrested for two business burlaries along MacArthur Drive.
A teenager sustained minor injuries Sunday evening when he was riding in a pickup truck that hit a utility pole on FM 1130. Orange police reported the driver was not hurt and the teen refused medical attention at the scene.
Orange police went to the 9000 block of FM 1130. A Chevrolet C1500 driven by 45-year-old Ricky Allen LeBleu of Little Cypress was traveling westbound. Police report he lost control, left the roadway and the truck then hit the utility pole. A 17-year-old male passenger had minor injuries.
A car burglary was reported at the Kroger parking lot, 1600 16th Street, on Sunday afternoon. Detective Captain Robert Enmon said the owners of the vehicle had left the windows cracked open because of the heat. A purse and other items were stolen.
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