Altamonte, FL - An Apopka man is arrested after Altamonte Springs police catch him with chainsaws he stole in Volusia County.
Yesterday at 1 p.m. (February 11th), Volusia County Sheriff's Office was called to a tractor supply store found off Firehouse Road in DeLand, in response to a theft.
When deputies arrived they met with an employee of the shop, who told them that they learned of the theft through Altamonte Springs police.
Deputies were told they received a call from a detective at ASPD, who said they had recovered two stolen Stihl chainsaws, with serial numbers that traced back to that store.
After getting the call, the employee would check their camera system. Upon reviewing footage, they found out that back on February 6th, 52-year-old Edward Marrs had walked into the store and snuck out the two chainsaws under his jacket, both valued at $350.
A few days later (February 10th), an officer with ASPD would find Marrs parked near a Lowes and notice that he had a broken tail light and no seat belt on. The officer would then pull up behind him and begin a traffic stop.
As the officer interviewed Marrs, they noticed a brand new Husqvarna weed eater, a Honeywell thermostat, Huffy bike and Stanley black chrome ratchet set in the back of his truck. They also found two brand new Stihl chainsaws sitting on his passenger seat.
The officer became suspicious as there seemed to be no receipts or bags, showing that the items had been recently purchased from a store.
Marrs would then be detained by the officer until he could figure out where the items came from. He would tell the officer that the weed eater was found by a tree outside of Lowes, the bicycle belonged to his cousin, the tools set belonged to him and the chainsaws belongs to an Apopka tree service.
To verify the story, the officer decided to check with employees at the Lowes.
An employee at that Lowes would tell the officer that they originally saw Marrs in the store earlier that day with the weed eater and thermostat in his cart.
She stated it caught her eye because the weed eater did not have any box around it as they normally all do.
After seeing the items in Marrs' possession, the employee would confirm that they matched the display items that seemed to have gone missing from inside of the store.
The bike and the ratchet set would be tracked back to a Walmart, and both chainsaws would be tracked back to DeLand.
Marrs would be charged by Altamonte Springs police for retail theft. Jail records show that he's currently in custody at Seminole County Jail.
Photo courtesy of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
