July 24, 2018
On Friday, July 20, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. the Levy County
Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call. The caller told our 911 communications
officers he received an electronic alert that someone was breaking into his
house at 18350 SE Butler Road in Inglis. Communication officers immediately
dispatched deputies to the home and updated them with information being relayed
to them from the caller.
Deputy Tucker Gaffey and Deputy Kevin Sheppard arrived on
scene and quietly approached the home. They were able to see a person inside
the home with a flashlight. The burglar was then seen dropping a pillow case
filled with stolen property out of an open window as the deputies approached
him. The burglar was holding a large machete as he exited the window to make
his get-away and was confronted. Orders given by deputies to drop the machete were
ignored by the burglar, so deputies used their Agency issued Taser to take him
into custody.
The burglar, identified as Mitchael Porterfield (5-3-90)
from Inglis, was taken to jail and charged with burglary, grand theft,
possession of burglary tools and resisting an officer without violence. Currently
Porterfield is being held at the Levy County Detention Bureau and his bond is
set at $60,000.00. But, his arrest did not end the investigation.
Mitchael Porterfield was suspected of breaking into other
homes in Inglis and the northern Crystal River area, stealing to fuel his drug
addiction. Members of the LCSO Criminal Investigations Division (CID) developed
additional information which allowed them to secure a search warrant for
Porterfield’s home.
Yesterday, July 23rd at approximately 2:00 pm
members of CID and the Patrol Division executed the search warrant on
Porterfield’s home and located thousands of dollars in stolen items, including power
tools and a go-cart. Several of these stolen items have already been identified
by the owners and will be returned. Additional charges will be filed on
Porterfield at a later date. Investigators are still attempting to identify
other items seized during this investigation.
Anyone who has been a recent victim of a theft or home
burglary in Inglis or northern Citrus County is asked to contact Investigator
Scott Stancil at 352-486-5111 ext. 364. Please make sure you have the case
number available from when you made your report to law enforcement and a
detailed description of what was stolen.
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