On three separate occasions during the wee hours of the morning and individual climbed the fence at Ace Hardware in DeFuniak Springs to acquire power tools. A few days before Christmas, the suspect took a weed eater from inside the fence. Then, in the late hours of Christmas Day, the same suspect took a pressure washer. The third burglary occurred on January 9th and resulted in the suspect being scared by a camera, so no items were taken.
Investigation revealed that Larry Michael Gardner, DOB: 07/11/1989, of DeFuniak Springs, committed the three burglaries. Gardner stated he didn’t even need the items, but just wanted to see if he could do it. Gardner is being charged with three counts of Burglary to a Structure and with Theft and is currently in the Walton County Jail. The weed eater and pressure washer were recovered from relatives of Gardner.
Chief Weeks added that this “theft out of boredom” is the type of crimes that are hard to prevent. The key to catching this suspect was the business having good lighting and security cameras.