According to WINK News, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to apprehend Jermaine Wofford, 47, thanks to surveillance footage. He is accused of stealing 18 turtles worth $30,000 from a turtle breeder in Southwest Florida.
Turtle Source is run by Marcus Cantos. “I just had this sick, sick feeling. I felt nauseous the whole time,” Cantos said.
However, he claims that this was not a random theft. According to Cantos, Wofford was expected to be repairing a beverage cooler. “He needed a part, so he was going to come back when you get the part in. After the first time he left, we noticed a couple of things missing. But we didn’t make the connection with the guy,” Cantos said.
When Cantos returned, he discovered that the workplace turtle called “Huncy” had gone missing. That’s when they went to look through the surveillance footage.
“The camera is right up here, not hard to see, and the guy looked right in the camera, and that’s how the sheriff’s department was able to use the facial recognition, and he was just helping himself to all of these,” Cantos explained.
Once the LCSO had completed their investigation, all that was left was to get Wofford to the property and make an arrest. Cantos said.
Marcus Cantos nowadays has a cautionary tale to other fellow entrepreneurs. “Check credentials as people come in. Verify that the place is legit, and then you should be fine. But if not, you’re like us, careless, and stuff goes bad,” he stated.
In Hillsborough County, deputies were able to retrieve five of the 18 turtles that had been taken. Meaning Cantos lost nearly $20k!
