Teen thieves learn that air conditioner in yellow wheelbarrow can attract attention

By Special to the Beacon

posted Mar 20, 2013 - 6:03:34pm

A Deltona teen said that after an unsuccessful shoplifting incident had left him with a restitution debt, he had a plan to make some easy money to pay it. With a friend’s assistance, the teen stole an air conditioner from a nearby home Tuesday morning and hauled it down the street in a yellow wheelbarrow. Despite the dark hour, the pair stood out to an observant resident and he reported the suspicious activity to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. When the teens spotted a deputy driving in the area, they dumped the air conditioner into the woods. But when the deputy later spoke with a very nervous Kimani Parker, 18, he eventually admitted to his plan to sell the stolen appliance to a scrap yard.

A man on his way to work called the Sheriff’s Office shortly after 6 a.m., saying: “I was coming out of my driveway and I saw these two young boys carrying an air conditioning unit. I’m assuming they stole it from somebody’s house nearby.” He said that the air conditioner was in a wheelbarrow and that he recognized the man pushing it as Parker. He also gave Parker’s address on Croton Avenue to the dispatcher. A deputy found Parker at home and asked if the teen knew why he was there. “Possibly because of the air conditioner unit,” Parker responded. He initially said that he had permission to take it. He was going to then sell it to help pay a $200 civil obligation owed to a Walmart store. But when the deputy asked where exactly the air conditioner came from so he could talk to the owner, Parker finally admitted that he had stolen it from a house on Otis Avenue he “stumbled” upon. His 17-year-old friend Kyle DeJesus helped him cut the copper pipes and wires connecting it to the house with pruning shears. They then loaded it into the wheelbarrow and took it to DeJesus’ home on Croton Avenue. But when the deputy appeared in the area, they quickly dumped the unit in the woods behind DeJesus’ house.

Both teens were charged with burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief. Parker was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. DeJesus was released to his parents.

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