Trailer camper stolen while parked at Bronson church due to owner's vehicle trouble
Virgil Case Hughes, of Bronson.
August 14, 9:44 am: Virgil Case Hughes, 34, of Bronson, FL was arrested by the Levy County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle (camper) and resisting an officer without violence ($20,000 bond).
The arrest report stated that a 65 year-old woman was driving through Levy County enroute to Tallahassee, Florida when she experienced mechanical failure with her vehicle, which was towing a 2005 Trail Cruiser trailer-style camper that was valued at approximately $7,000. Within the camper, the report stated, the woman had approximately $10,000 in possessions. The woman parked the camper at Bronson First Baptist Church, with the permission of the church's pastor, and had her personal vehicle towed to her residence in Tallahassee.
The arrest report stated that the camper was stolen from the church grounds on July 24, at 5:56 pm, according to video surveillance from the Levy County Courthouse in Bronson, FL. The surveillance film showed the camper being towed from the church by a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck that had distinctive features such as a chrome side steps, chrome door handles, a chrome front grill, and fender flairs.
On August 4, the LCSO was contacted by the lease owner of land in the area of County Road 32 and County Road 337 in Bronson, who showed deputies photos from a game camera of a trailer-style camper on his lease property, which also showed a vehicle that matched the description of the vehicle that had towed the camper from the church. On August 5, detectives went to the property and found the stolen camper, along with two dogs.
On August 6, a deputy observed the blue Dodge Ram truck pull into the gas station of State Road 24, across from the Bronson Speedway. The truck's tag number was registered to Virgil Case Hughes, of Bronson. Deputies made a background check and learned that Hughes had been arrested on June 19, 2020 for battering a relative with whom he resided, and Mr Hughes had been issued a court order to have no contact with the victim. Deputies set up a perimeter around the gas station, but Hughes took off in his vehicle and deputies were unable to locate him on the dirt roads behind the gas station.
On August 7, surveillance equipment picked up movement at the stolen trailer, and Hughes was seen riding a bicycle toward the camper. Deputies arrived to find that Hughes was not at the trailer, but they found items inside the trailer with Hughes' name. Deputies also followed footprints from the camper to a residence located at on Ishie Ave., approximately 100 yards from the stolen camper, which is the home of an acquaintance of Mr. Hughes, and the wife of Hughes' acquaintance.
Deputies attempted, but were unable to locate Mr. Hughes until August 14, when he was seen exiting an outbuilding near the back door of the Ishie Ave. residence and was taken into custody. Hughes told deputies he'd purchased the camper from a man for $300 after he'd gotten kicked out of his relative's residence. Hughes showed deputies a photo of a man, that had been sent to his phone on August 10, 2020, whom Hughes claimed he'd bought the camper from.