A Holmes Beach man — sentenced previously in two similar cases in the past two years — was arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for pawning tools belonging to LaPensee Plumbing & Pools.
Matthew J. Burnett, 34, was arrested March 8 on a warrant for four instances of felony fraud to pawn shops, including pawns of two Stihl concrete saws, two Dewalt reciprocating saws and a Milwaukee drill. He was transported to Manatee County jail.
The March arrest follows the state’s 2014 grand theft prosecution against Burnett for a saw allegedly belonging to LaPensee, 401 Manatee Ave., Holmes Beach, and for the theft and pawn of an acetylene torch kit from Ocean-Aire Conditioning, Bradenton, in 2013.
LaPensee reported more than $5,000 in tools missing from a work truck assigned to Burnett on Sept. 11, 2014, and Burnett was terminated the same day, according to LaPensee manager Chad Schweitzer.
MCSO Detective Terry Kipp worked with Holmes Beach Police Department Detective Sgt. Brian Hall to make the March arrest. The unauthorized pawns allegedly occurred in August 2014 and September 2014.
Burnett received two $150 payments for two saws and $30 for another saw from pawns at Abba Pawn in Bradenton, according to MCSO probable cause reports.
From Cash America in Palmetto, Burnett allegedly received $40 for the unauthorized pawn of a saw and a drill.
According to a HBPD police report, Burnett may have pawned other stolen tools in the MCSO jurisdiction.
Burnett’s bond was set at $20,000.
However, the court determined Burnett was ineligible for release from jail because of a drug probation violation stemming from the 2013 theft/pawn case.
Burnett also was on two years of drug probation.
As a result of the 2015 LaPensee pawn case, Burnett was being held without bond, pending the next available date in drug court at The Islander press time.