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CLERMONT, Fla. — A restaurant manager in Clermont is being credited with helping police track down a thief.
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Investigators say the manager of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s on State Road 50 caught the suspect stealing cooking oil from the restaurant last Wednesday.
According to the Clermont Police Department, the manager described the suspect as a slender black man with dreadlocks, wearing all black.
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Once confronted by the manager, police say the suspect fled the area in a “beat-up” white work van.
Police say they eventually spotted the van in traffic and pulled it over.
When questioned, police say the suspect tried to claim he was “just driving around collecting oil to take to a buyer.”
According to the police department, the inside of the van was set up with equipment that appeared as though it could be part of a “criminal enterprise.”
They also found a pair of bolt cutters near the front of the van’s cab.
Police say they found approximately 129 gallons of oil that had been stolen from the restaurant in the van, estimated to be worth more than $435.
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After an investigation, the suspect, identified by police as a 17-year-old boy from Tampa, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of burglary with intent to commit theft, possession of burglary tools, and traveling across county lines to commit crimes.
“This is a prime example of the ‘see something, say something’ movement,” a statement from the Clermont Police Department said. “Great job to the manager that called law enforcement quickly when he observed the theft.”
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