A Florida man has been taken into custody after trying to steal weapons from a gun store for the second time in three days, police say.
Jeremy Middleton of Apopka is now facing multiple charges following the reported incidents last week at the Arms for Defense gun shop in Clearwater on Friday and the Sicarios Gun Shop in Melbourne on Wednesday, according to jail records.
The 24-year-old from the Orlando area was arrested early Friday after the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says he was "seen on video using an angle grinder to cut the doorknob off of the rear door to Arms for Defense.
"The defendant did not make entry to the structure and was observed fleeing the scene in a Black Honda Civic when deputies arrived on scene," read a police affidavit obtained by Fox35 Orlando.
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Police say Middleton ran away on foot after being pursued by investigators, but eventually was taken into custody without incident with the help of a K-9 unit.
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Underneath the passenger seat of his vehicle, which was stolen, deputies found a Keltec .22 caliber handgun that was reported stolen from Sicarios Gun Shop in Melbourne days earlier.
Police investigating that incident said the store’s back door was forced open and several display cases were smashed.
"The suspect, captured on video surveillance, was covered with a ‘hoodie’ jacket," the Melbourne Police Department said in a press release. "He was seen leaving in a dark colored Honda with a tag which had been reported stolen from Central Florida."
Middleton is facing charges including burglary, grand theft motor vehicle and resisting an officer.
