OKEECHOBEE — A 31-year-old Okeechobee man was arrested Sunday after being suspected of burglary.
Quinton Thomas Hamner, Southeast 30th Street, was arrested Sept. 2 by Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) Deputy Tyler Ott on felony charges of unarmed burglary of occupied dwelling, unarmed burglary of unoccupied conveyance and misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief with property damage (more than $200 but less than $1,000) and two counts of petit theft (more than $100 but less than $300). His bond was set at $78,000.
According to an arrest report by Deputy Ott, at 11:47 a.m. on Sunday, he responded to Southeast 33rd Terrace, in regards to a burglary complaint. The complainant reportedly informed him that he went to the flea market that morning to look for a bird for his mother.
The man returned from the flea market around 9 a.m. and went into his bedroom to take a nap.
It was during the nap that his step-daughter saw someone – later identified as Hamner – open the front door of the house and go into the bathroom, directly across from the front door, noted the report.
Hamner reportedly asked the man’s step-daughter the location of her father and stated that he would be back in 10-20 minutes. As Hamner left, the man’s step-daughter woke him up and told him that he had a visitor. The man was unaware of Hamner’s alleged presence in the house. He then went outside and saw the exterior door to the porch of the house had been forced open. The complainant then went to check on his green 1998 Ford F-150 truck and noticed someone had rummaged through it. The man said he remembered locking the driver’s side door but could not recall about the passenger side.
The complainant reported that his black blue-tooth headset and several articles of clothing, to include a reflective safety vest, were missing from the truck. A partially smoked cigarette was collected and photographs were taken of the damaged door.
While Deputy Ott spoke with the complainant, several other OCSO deputies had been notified by the owner of Lakeview Inn & Suites, located in the 3200 block of U.S. 441 Southeast – directly east across the street from the complainant’s residence – that Hamner was in a tenant’s room.
The owner of the lodging establishment lead OCSO personnel to the room. The report stated that Hamner wore a green hat, sunglasses, white t-shirt, blue jeans that appeared to be too long for him and socks with gray sandals. Hamner also was found to be in possession of a beige colored laundry bag along with a banana and cigarette in hand.
Hamner reportedly dropped the bag to the ground; it landed slightly open and Deputy Ott saw a reflective safety vest and black blue-tooth headset inside.
Hamner was detained at this time due to the items. The complainant reportedly identified the stolen items. Hamner was placed into Deputy Ott’s patrol vehicle.
Deputy Ott searched the laundry bag and found a prescription pill bottle belonging to the complainant’s girlfriend. Some of the complainant’s articles of clothing were also located in the bag. The couple said they wished to pursue criminal charges against Hamner.
While the search of the bag ensued, the owner of Lakeview Inn & Suites told deputies the laundry bag was for the use of guests for the laundry machine on the premises. The woman also saw several clothing items that belonged to her such as a pair of blue jeans, gray shirt and shorts and a white t-shirt. The owner reported that the clothes had been left in the washer and dryer at the hotel. She also wished to pursue criminal charges against Hamner.
The tenant of the room told Deputy Ott that Hamner knocked on her door and requested permission to change clothes inside of her room.
The tenant also identified items in the laundry bag. During his time in the room, Hamner allegedly had taken a green towel, black backpack, deodorant, essential oils, and a brush. The woman also reportedly found feathers in her room’s trash receptacle. The feathers had reportedly been on her gray sandals. At the time of his detainment, Hamner was wearing the women’s sandals, now sans feathers. The woman also wished to pursue criminal charges against Hamner for the items taken out of her room.
Photographs were taken of the items from inside of the laundry bag and returned to their owners. Photographs were also taken of the gray sandals on Hamner’s feet and the clothes he wore.
Deputy Ott reportedly also spoke with another person staying at the inn who saw someone around the original complainant’s residence earlier that day. The owner of the inn reported that they have security surveillance equipment and that footage would be provided to OCSO and submitted as evidence.
The report noted that two additional complainants identified Hamner. The first drove by the scene and recognized Hamner as the male who had been seen on his front porch. The second said she found Hamner naked in her residence and that she gave him a gray Pittsburgh Steelers shirt to wear before he left. A shirt matching that description was also found in the laundry bag and collected to be submitted as evidence.
The report concluded that Hamner was arrested, transported and booked into the Okeechobee County Jail on the aforementioned charges. A pack of Silver Cloud Red 100s cigarettes were located in the pockets of clothes worn by Hamner and submitted as evidence. The cigarettes in the pack were compared to the one partially smoked cigarette found in the complainant’s bathroom and both cigarettes had two gold bands on the cigarette butt.