OCALA, Fla. – An Ocala woman stole hundreds of dollars in cash from a family hosting a yard sale then flipped off one of the victims as she was chasing her down to get the money back, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
The victims, two sisters and their mother, were hosting a yard sale on Saturday in a gated senior community when the suspect, Susan Weitzel, 62, stopped by, the arrest affidavit said.
"It's pretty busy traffic, a lot of cars in and out," Frank Alogna, the general manager of the Sweetwater Oaks neighborhood, said.
The sisters had just finished counting $300 in earnings and putting it into a cash box.
Weitzel told the woman in charge of watching the cash box that she wanted to buy a china bowl and needed the victim to get a bag for her. While the woman's back was turned, Weitzel opened the cash box and snatched the money from the box and stuffed it in her pocket, deputies said.
One of the victims saw what was happening and yelled for Weitzel to stop, according to the affidavit.
Weitzel ran away from the victims as they chased her to her white Ford F-150 pickup truck. One of the women pulled the handle to open the door of the truck, but it was locked. Weitzel displayed her middle at the victim and sped off, deputies said.
"There's actually a confrontation near the car. They follow her so close to the car, try to get into her car, try to talk to her and get her out because she stole their money," Marion County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lauren Lettelier said.
A maintenance worker who saw the truck speeding off pointed authorities in Weitzel's direction. They found her at her home, which is about a half-mile from the scene of the crime, the affidavit said.
"Surprising, surprising that it's from a lifestyle community, a retirement community, and somebody would be doing that to their neighbors," Algona said.
Weitzel tried to escape through the back door when she saw deputies at her home, according to the report. A deputy had to use a straight arm bar takedown to get Weitzel handcuffed, officials said.
Weitzel is charged with grand theft and resisting an officer without violence.
"It's just sad, the whole thing is sad," Weitzel's neighbor, Linda Barnard, said. "She brought me cookies every Christmas Eve, she's given me a beautiful potted plant. She never had anything unkind to say to me. So my reaction was I wanted to pray for her, actually."
Investigators put out a warning to residents of similar crimes happening in the area since last year. Detectives are trying to figure out if Weitzel could be connected to eight other cases.
"Our investigation is not over. Just because we have an arrest, doesn't mean our investigation is over. We're looking at other cases this individual might have been involved with and see where that takes us," Lettelier said.
Weitzel has bonded out of jail. The sheriff's office said crimes like this are rare in Marion County and warn residents to be aware of their surroundings if they're holding yard sales.