Tuesday, July 24, 2018

When “IT” Just Goes Right


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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