CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A ride-hail driver has been identified as a getaway driver during a theft spree that targeted different Home Depot stores, according to Clay County investigators.
Patrice Gonza, 34, of Jacksonville, is facing four counts of retail theft.
According to investigators, Gonza was one of six people who took part in a theft spree spanning from June 19 to July 25. The spree involved five other unidentified people going into two Home Depot stores in Clay County and walking out with multiple rolls of copper wire without paying for them, according to investigators.
The stores that were hit included the Home Depot location on Branan Field Road — which was targeted three times — and the Home Depot store on Wells Road — which was targeted once. The thefts all happened between the late morning and early afternoon hours.
Investigators said a total of more than $19,000 worth of copper wire was stolen during the theft spree.
According to detectives, Gonza used his zTrip car that was assigned to him as the getaway vehicle during each of the thefts. Detectives said he waited in the parking lot while the other unidentified thieves went inside the store.
A manager at zTrip verified Gonza as one of their associates, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant
Gonza was taken into custody Thursday at the zTrip Jacksonville office on an arrest warrant. As of Friday, he remained in the Clay County jail on $65,000 bond, according to jail records.