A resident of Harbor Hills has been charged with a string of burglaries and auto thefts totaling at least $10,900 in damages.
Alan Robert Schafer, 66, of the luxury neighborhood in rural Lady Lake, is suspected of committing various offenses in the U.S. Highway 27 corridor on May 15, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The initial contact came in at 8:45 a.m. from Katrib Auto Sales, which is situated at 1229 N 14th Street. The business’s alarm went off at 2 a.m. However, police enforcement had not yet been contacted because no one was visible on the video cameras at the time. However, an employee later stopped at the shop and discovered a damaged side window, according to the complaint.
She examined the camera footage while calling 911 and saw Schafer had attempted to enter the door. He then took an empty A/C canister from the trash and tossed it through the side window, breaking it. He took up the canister again and threw it at another glass before breaking the side window, according to the complaint.
Entering through the shattered window triggered the alarm, which appeared to startle Schafer. He retreated outside, proceeded southward, turned around, returned to the window, and eventually left on foot for North 14th Street. According to the investigation, the employee estimated that he caused $2,000 worth of window damage.
At 2:40 a.m., Schafer entered the parking area of the Christian Care Center, located at 1309 High St., approximately one mile distant. Officers later came to the scene and observed a Chevrolet van blinking on and off. Broken glass was thrown over the passenger side pavement, and the central window was damaged. According to the complaint, the ignition had also been “punched,” indicating an attempted theft of the van.
A check across the parking area found many more vehicles with smashed glass, including another Chevrolet van owned by the care center. The complaint estimated the cost of repairs at $5,000, according to the report.
The other vehicles included a Chevrolet van with $3,000 damage to the center driver’s side window. It was fractured by a whitish brick discovered inside the vehicle. The same was discovered in a black Honda Element that had $400 in damage. The remaining two vehicles were a Nissan PK and a four-door Cadillac, according to the report.
Officers were dispatched to Lake Sumter Transmissions & Auto Repair, situated at 700 S 14th St., about a half mile south of the care facility. According to the complaint, a window had been broken, causing $500 in damage, and a 2010 Nissan had been stolen.
The complainant remembers heading to the front of the establishment when he observed a smashed window. He then unlocked the front door to find a “drop-off” envelope shredded into two parts. The report stated that no keys were found within the packet.
Turning on the lights revealed “candy” all over the visitor’s room floor. Except for the vehicle whose keys were missing, no other property was damaged or stolen. The alarm had been engaged, but Schafer did not trigger it by departing the doors. The complainant assumed he had exited through the window to avoid setting off the alarm, according to the report.
An conversation with the owner of the stolen vehicle revealed that she had dropped it off on the evening of May 14. She turned in her keys by filling out a “drop-off” packet and pushing it through a port on the door, according to the report.
After speaking with the company owner, law authorities obtained a still image of Schafer from surveillance camera. He donned a red t-shirt that read “Scooby Doo” and “mystery van.” According to the complaint, the camera also showed Schafer inside the shop around 3:55 a.m.
The inquiry continued until May 20, when the LPD was called by an officer from the Fruitland Park Police Department. He recognized Schafer from his arrest at Leesburg International Airport on May 15, when he was charged with grand theft auto. He was still wearing the same red “Scooby Doo” shirt as in the previous three incidences, according to the report.
Schafer was also arrested on May 3 for grand theft of a motor vehicle and cocaine possession in Orange County, according to the Orange County Corrections Department.
Because Shafer had already been booked into Lake County Jail, the following charges were added: five counts of vehicle theft, burglary of an unoccupied structure (forced access), burglary of an empty structure (no forced entry), and retail theft (less than $750). The Pennsylvania native remains jailed on a $59,500 bond.
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