MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Clay County deputies said the owner of a tow truck company walked in on a suspected burglar who was stealing valuables that were left inside vehicles.
Deputies identified the suspect as Bobby Eugene Pruitt, 37, of Clay County.
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According to an arrest report obtained by News4Jax, Pruitt broke into Clay Towing on Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg just before 8 a.m. Saturday.
The report stated that Pruitt entered a storage office and removed all the security cameras from the walls before gathering keys that unlocked vehicles, doors and locks on the property.
According to investigators, once Pruitt had possession of keys, he went into a garage where he entered a truck and stole a cellphone, credit cards, keys to the truck and a watch. Investigators also said he also gathered an array of tools and equipment from inside the building and placed them into the passenger side of a Polaris Slingshot, which is a three-wheeled motor vehicle.
The report stated that Pruitt also entered an SUV on the property and stole a purse, two large bags of clothing, children’s toys and documents. Those items were also placed into the Polaris Slingshot, deputies said. After placing all the stolen items into the Slingshot, according to deputies, Pruitt tried to use various keys to start the Slingshot, but ended up causing damage to the ignition.
According to deputies, the owner of the tow truck business walked in on Pruitt, who was sitting in a chair while he was wearing the owner’s watch and had the owner's cellphone visibly in his shirt pocket. The owner told deputies that Pruitt gave the tow truck company owner’s credit card back to him. The owner called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and deputies later arrested Pruitt.
Pruitt is charged with:
- 4 counts of burglary
- 2 counts of grand theft
- 1 count of petit theft
- 1 count of vandalism
- Eluding law enforcement
- Resisting arrest
- Drug possession
A judge ordered that Pruitt be held in the Clay County jail without bond.
Court records show that Pruitt had been previously arrested in March on charges of drug possession and eluding law enforcement. That case is still active. Pruitt was also arrested last year in June on a drug possession charge. That case is also still active. Other arrests prior to 2018 were all drug-related.