Good Samaritans Stop Thief From Fleeing Brandon Thrift Store

A 36-year-old Plant City man faces multple charges of theft and dealing in stolen property, after county detectives say that he was caught trying to steal items from the Lighthouse Ministries Family Store in Brandon.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office:

Good Samaritans contacted detectives at about 8 a.m. on March 21, when they saw William Leon using wire cutters to remove the lock on a chain link fence behind the store, at 535 E. Brandon Blvd. Leon then backed up his truck to the store's loading dock and began loading items into the vehicle.

While the suspect was inside the fenced in area, employees from a neighboring auto mechanic business contacted detectives and ran to the gate to hold it closed, so Williams could not escape.

Det. Joe Testa, who was conducting surveillance at the Lighthouse Family Store because of prior thefts there, arrested Leon before he could escape, according to a press release from the sheriff's office.

Leon has been linked to the previous five burglaries at the store and has accumulated a total of 16 felony charges and six misdemeanors, according to the sheriff's office.

For more information on this business mentioned in this story, see the Patch listing for the Lighthouse Ministries Family Store.