A 47-year-old man faces burglary and other charges after deputies say surveillance footage linked him to various cases, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office says.
The investigation of Jeremy Lawrence, of Florence, started Nov. 11, when "an exotic tree" was stolen from a home in Florence, Navideh Forghani said in a department news release Monday. The homeowner told deputies he believed the man who stole his tree had stolen items from a neighbor the day before.
In that case, a man wearing a ghillie suit was captured on surveillance video Nov. 10 taking items from a home, including 25 A/C evaporator coils and a radiator belonging to a vintage truck.
The video reminded deputies of an August 2018 case. In it, the burglar, naked but for his shoes and gloves, was captured on video swiping plants from a home, the release said.
The plant thief in that case had a noticeable tattoo on his right shoulder, the release said.
That helped deputies link the 2018 cases to two in 2016, Forghani said in the news release.
On Nov. 16, deputies searched Lawrence's home and found items taken in the burglaries earlier this month, the release said.
Deputies also found marijuana growing in a back shed. More than 26 plants were seized.
Lawrence was arrested on suspicion of charges that included two counts of burglary, possession of marijuana for sale, cultivating of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The investigation continues, the release said.
