DeLand, FL – A 36-year-old man is thrown into Volusia County Jail after authorities tie him to the theft of over $120,000 worth of stolen vehicles and lawn equipment.
Rodric Fagiole was booked on $27,500 bond at VCJ on Thursday after an undercover sting by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office turned up a John Deere riding lawn mower that had been stolen earlier in the week.
VCSO spokesman Andrew Gant says that lawn mower – and a lot of other equipment – was stolen last Sunday at Robinson Tractor Service on Spring Garden Avenue near DeLand.
“Someone had cut the chain to the gate, broken the glass in an office door and stolen a set of keys to gain access to several other areas,” Gant said. “A $47,000 Dodge Ram flatbed truck was gone. So were 5 John Deere riding lawn mowers, each valued between $10,000 and $15,000.”
Deputies also discovered 10 missing weed eaters valued at $350 each as well as an edger, a hedge trimmer, a blower, a chainsaw, a plasma cutter, a tool box, a jack and jumper cables.
“It appeared that a jack was used to lift a trailer off of the Dodge Ram’s trailer hitch and steal the truck,” Gant noted.
Even more items were found missing from another trailer sitting at the back of the property, according to Gant.
“In all, the stolen items totaled more than $122,000 in value,” Gant said.
Investigators caught several breaks before arresting Fagiole, including finding the missing Dodge Ram parked behind the Daytona Nut & Bolt store on North Woodland Boulevard the day after the break-in.
“On Wednesday, deputies interviewed a man who had recently purchased a John Deere riding lawn mower from a man he’d just met,” Gant said. “The buyer told deputies he heard about recent thefts of lawn equipment and contacted the Sheriff’s Office to check if the mower was stolen. It was.”
Deputies also discovered another man who told VCSO he had bought a bunch of lawn equipment from Fagiole that was later tied to Sunday’s break-in, including 3 weed eaters, 2 edgers, 2 blowers, a hedge trimmer and a pole saw.
That’s when VCSO decided to set up an operation to catch whoever was selling this equipment, according to Gant.
“Deputies tracked down [Fagiole’s] phone number and set up a sting,” Gant stated. “Fagiole would meet them at an area Hardee’s and sell them a John Deere mower. Fagiole showed up for the deal and pointed undercover deputies toward a John Deere mower he had left behind a nearby skating rink building.”
Fagiole was taken into custody and charged with 2 counts of grand theft and 3 counts of dealing in stolen property after admitting that he knew the mower was stolen, per Gant.
VCJ records show Fagiole’s been booked there 14 other times since August 2004, including last Monday for driving with a suspended/canceled/revoked license.
Anyone with information related to these thefts is asked to call VCSO at 386-943-7866.
Rodric Fagiole (mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
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