Gainesville man arrested for violating new organized retail theft law, claimed drug-induced amnesia

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jack Caverly Mason II, 61, was arrested yesterday on multiple retail theft charges, including a new law making it a felony to steal from more than one location in a 48-hour period; he reportedly said he did not remember the thefts because of his drug-induced amnesia.

On December 9, Mason allegedly entered the Home Depot on NW 13th Street, placed “numerous” items, including several Dewalt power tools, in his shopping cart, and left through the main entrance without making any effort to pay for the items. The store was unable to provide a complete list of stolen items, but two identified items came to $428, and other items likely added another $400 to $1,000.

Mason reportedly left in a gray Mazda, and a Home Depot employee recorded the license plate, which was used to identify Mason. A Gainesville Police Department (GPD) detective also noted that an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office detective knows Mason and was able to identify him from surveillance video, although Mason was wearing a “COVID mask.”

On December 10, Mason allegedly entered the Home Depot off Tower Road, selected “numerous” items, placed them in a shopping cart, and left through the main entrance without paying. A store employee confirmed the theft of two DeWalt power tools, valued at $548, plus a bottle of Pine Sol valued at $14.98. The employee stated that other items were taken, but because they could not be identified, the confirmed theft did not meet the $750 threshold for grand theft.

Mason again left the parking lot in a gray Mazda.

On December 14, the gray Mazda was found at the northeast Walmart (1800 NE 12th Avenue), and Mason was reportedly found in the driver’s seat of the car, wearing some of the same clothes seen in the surveillance videos of the two theft incidents. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced two pipes with drug residue.

After he was arrested, Mason was transported to GPD Headquarters for questioning, and post Miranda, he reportedly said he had been “relapsing on drugs real bad lately” and did not remember any of the alleged thefts. When he was shown surveillance video from the two Home Depot incidents, he reportedly said the items might be purchases for his clients, since he is a carpenter. However, the detective reported that surveillance videos clearly showed that Mason pushed the carts out of the store without paying; when this was pointed out, Mason reportedly claimed he had drug-induced amnesia and couldn’t remember the incidents.

Mason has been charged with committing retail thefts from more than one location in a 48-hour period, engaging in a scheme to defraud, two counts of petit theft, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), and Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $35,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.