Cape Coral, FL - A former maintenance worker at a Southwest Florida senior living community was arrested for allegedly stealing work tools and pawning them.
Cape Coral Police arrested 32-year-old Jacob Michael Schismenos on charges of stealing and pawning work tools from Madison Square Apartments, a senior living complex where he previously worked as a maintenance worker.
An investigation into the thefts began on April 5th after a call to police from the property manager reporting Schismenos' termination for suspected theft.
According to the property manager, several items, including leaf blowers, portable AC units, and cleaning equipment began disappearing from the apartment complex in January.
Following each disappearance, the manager confronted Schismenos, and following the confrontation, the missing items would mysteriously reappear.
However, on March 27th, the manager noticed the items vanished again.
Security footage captured Schismenos removing the tools from the facility and returning later without them.
Further investigation revealed Schismenos had pawned the stolen items at multiple shops throughout Cape Coral, totaling over $3,600.
Police traced the transactions across 31 separate pawn tickets, each falsely signed by Schismenos claiming ownership.
Schismenos was arrested on 31 counts each of petit theft, false verification of ownership to a pawnbroker, and dealing in stolen property.
The charges range from misdemeanors to felonies.