Waldo man arrested for stealing thousands of dollars of goods from multiple storage units

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Marc Aaron Overton, 46, of Waldo, was arrested yesterday and charged with four counts of burglary, four counts of grand theft, and two counts of grand theft of a firearm after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars of items from at least four storage units. A sworn complaint has been filed against Joseph Frank Pappagallo, 44, in the same case.

On October 4, one of the victims was shopping at the Goodwill at 1223 NW 23rd Avenue when he saw several pairs of “creeper” shoes that he recognized because he had customized them himself; the shoes had been in his storage unit at Personal Mini Storage, 8825 NW 13th Street. The victim drove to his storage unit and found it had been completely cleared out. The stolen items reportedly included a rifle, an AR-15-style rifle, firearms parts and accessories, ammunition, vintage clothing including the shoes, and other items. The items were valued at approximately $7,000.

The next morning, the victim went to the office of the storage facility to view surveillance footage, which reportedly showed a dark-colored Nissan Titan pickup truck entering the fenced area of the facility at 4:30 p.m. on October 1; the truck had several distinctive features. Two white men got out of the truck and entered a building with multiple interior storage units, then came back out, presumably because other customers were in the building.

The two men reportedly waited near the truck for more than an hour, then went back inside at about 7:21 p.m. and made multiple trips to the truck, carrying various items, for the next two hours. The victim identified some of the items as his, and at one point, the men reportedly dropped a “creeper” shoe that the victim recognized. The men left at about 9:45 p.m., with a large amount of cargo in the truck and on a platform attached to the trailer hitch.

On October 7, another tenant reported that her storage unit had been burglarized and that a large amount of computer equipment, a 55″ television, luggage, and other items had been stolen, with an estimated value of about $1,000.

On October 9, another tenant reported that his storage unit had been burglarized and that he was missing a large amount of computer equipment and home goods, with a value of approximately $4,960.

On October 10, a fourth tenant reported that his storage unit had been burglarized and that he was missing tools, a large tent, and personal information. The value of the items was estimated at $1,000.

A Gainesville Police Department officer sent out a bulletin with the descriptions of the suspects and their truck, and an Alachua County Sheriff’s Detective reportedly recognized one of the men as Pappagallo. The Detective said he believed the other man was Overton, who was known to be an acquaintance of Pappagallo.

The GPD officer drove to Overton’s home on October 10 and saw the pickup truck on the property. The officer obtained a search warrant for Overton’s home, and the search warrant was executed on October 19. Overton was there at the time and was arrested; he was reportedly wearing the same shirt worn by the suspect in the surveillance video.

Property belonging to all of the victims was reportedly found during the search, including the AR-15-style rifle.

Post Miranda, Overton reportedly said he and Pappagallo went to the storage facility to get Pappagallo’s belongings, but once they were there, Pappagallo began burglarizing other storage units, and Overton joined him in stealing items.

Overton has two felony convictions (none violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (none violent). Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $240,000.

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.