COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. – An investigation by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office led to two arrests and the recovery of a firefighter’s stolen vehicle, weapons, drugs, and more in Fort White, according to a sheriff’s office release.
According to the release, deputies were called to Fire Station 46 in Fort White Sunday after receiving a report of a stolen pick-up truck that belonged to one of the firefighters.
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The CCSO said a 31-year-old Fort White man allegedly stole it after the crew left to respond to a medical call for a person who wasn’t breathing.
A short time later, the truck was located. However, several items that were inside the car, including firearms and ammunition, were missing.
The man was apprehended nearby and led officials to a home where he stated the missing items might be located, according to the release.
According to deputies, they searched the house on Monday and found nine guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and about 90 pounds of marijuana.
Officials said they also found five severely neglected dogs and Animal Control responded to retrieve them.
The owner of the property, a 34-year-old Fort White man, was arrested and charged with various weapons, drug, and animal neglect offenses, according to the release.
“This case evolved very quickly and led to an extensive recovery of evidence,” said Sheriff Mark Hunter. “The tremendous cooperation and proactive work among our Patrol and Detective Divisions resulted in the successful resolution of this case and possibly many others. We may be able to solve more crimes as a result of this one incident.”
Officials said the investigation is ongoing to see if any of the recovered items can be linked to other reported crimes.