Santiago, of Inverness, sentenced to 7 years in burglary trial after entering open plea

Office of the State Attorney, Fifth Judicial Circuit
Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties

Citrus County, Florida - On the morning of March 4, 2025, just minutes before jurors were scheduled to hear the state's evidence against 40 year-old Ashley Jerome Oliver Santiago of Inverness, Florida, Santiago entered an open plea to the Court before the Honorable Judge Joel D. Fritton.

After a brief discussion with his attorney, Santiago - who was charged with two counts of burglary of a structure, three counts of felony petit theft, and one count of criminal mischief - entered the open plea in lieu of going to trial. Judge Fritton sentenced Santiago to serve seven years in prison, followed by three years of felony probation.

Assistant State Attorneys Elizabeth Colombrito and Patsey Jacobs prosecuted the case.

"The defendant's repeated criminal behavior shows a clear disregard for the law," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie. "After recently serving time, he chose to reoffend instead of reform. This sentence will hold him accountable for his actions, and protect our community from further victimization."

Santiago, who had just recently been released from jail and designated as a habitual felony offender, faced burglary charges related to two incidents that occurred at an Inverness residence on November 15 and 16, 2024. He faced a third charge of felony petit theft for a crime committed at a nearby business located on East Gulf to Lake Highway in Inverness, Florida around the same time in November 2024.

On November 15, 2024, an Inverness resident told Citrus County Sheriff's Office deputies that an unknown man wearing a black shirt and black and blue shorts had stolen a Craftsman trimmer from his back yard shed, and that earlier the same morning, the same man had attempted to enter his/her home after making a hole in the front porch screen, where the victim had confronted him. The victim provided law enforcement personnel with video footage from their home.

The following day (November 16, 2024), deputies were called back to the same Inverness residence after the victim spotted the suspect, later identified as Santiago, in the area. Deputies located Santiago, who was carrying the clothing described by the victim and also observed being worn by Santiago on the video footage from the victim's home. Santiago was arrested and booked into the Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto, Florida.

Five days later, the business owner of Mattress by Appointment Citrus, located at 2961 East Gulf To Lake Hwy in Inverness, Florida, reported a past theft to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. The owner stated, that when he/she arrived at the business, he/she noticed that the front door was unlocked, and the company's laptop computer was missing. The surveillance footage at the business showed Santiago enter the building, concealing the laptop computer in his bag, and then leaving the building.

The stolen laptop computer, which was not listed as stolen at the time of Santiago's November 16, 2024 arrest, was in Santiago's possession at the time of his initial arrest. The item was collected and turned into evidence. Santiago, who was still in custody, was charged with felony petit theft of the laptop computer.