Waldo Man Arrested for Stealing From Storage Units, Firearms, Computer Equipment Among Stolen Items

WALDO – A 46-year-old Waldo man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 9:15 a.m. and charged with four counts of burglary, four counts of grand theft and two counts of grand theft of a firearm after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars of items from at least four storage units.

Marc Aaron Overton was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) after it was found that he and 44-year-old Joseph Frank Pappagallo were complicit in the thefts.

On the afternoon of Oct. 4, one of the victims was shopping at the Goodwill at 1223 N.W. 23^rd Avenue in Gainesville when he saw several pairs of “creeper” shoes that he recognized because he had customized them himself.

The shoes, with alterations of paint and attachments, had been in his storage unit at Personal Mini Storage, 8825 N.W. 13^th Street. The victim drove to his storage unit and found it had been cleared out. The stolen items reportedly included a KelTec Sub 2000 rifle, a Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II AR-15-style rifle, firearms parts and accessories, ammunition, vintage clothing including the shoes, and other items. The items were valued at approximately $7,000.

The victim returned the following morning and viewed the surveillance footage with the business manager. The footage showed that at 4:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Oct. 1, a dark colored Nissan Titan pickup truck entered the fenced compound of the storage facility.

The pickup truck was distinct in that it was lifted, it had oversized tires, had a dark toolbox in its bed and had a cable on its exterior, which ran from its center high mount stop lamp (third break light) down toward the tool box. After parking, two white males exited. The driver of the vehicle was the defendant. The passenger (the co-defendant) was a thin white male who was bald with a goatee and had a large number of distinct tattoos.

The men briefly entered a large metal building containing multiple interior storage units. Other customers were present and the men returned to the truck and attached a platform to the trailer hitch of the vehicle. At 7:21 p.m. they went back inside and made multiple trips to the truck, carrying various items, for the next two hours. The victim identified some of the items as his, and at one point, the men reportedly dropped a “creeper” shoe that the victim recognized. The men left at about 9:45 p.m., with a large amount of cargo in the truck and on a platform attached to the trailer hitch.

On Oct. 7, another tenant reported that her storage unit had been burglarized and that a large amount of computer equipment, a 55-inch television, luggage and other items had been stolen, with an estimated value of about $1,000.

On Oct. 9, another tenant reported that his storage unit had been burglarized and that he was missing a large amount of computer equipment and home goods valued at approximately $4,960.

On Oct. 10, a fourth tenant reported that his storage unit had been burglarized and that he was missing tools, a large tent and personal information. The value of the stolen items was approximately $1,000.

A GPD officer sent out a bulletin with the descriptions of the suspects and their truck. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Detective reportedly recognized one of the men as Pappagallo. The Detective said he believed the other man was Overton, who was known to be an acquaintance of Pappagallo.

The GPD officer drove to Overton’s home on Oct. 10 and saw the pickup truck on the property. The officer obtained a search warrant for Overton’s home, which was executed on Oct. 19. Overton was there at the time and was arrested. He was reportedly wearing the same shirt worn by the suspect in the surveillance video.

Property belonging to all of the victims was reportedly found during the search, including the AR-15-style rifle.

Post Miranda, Overton reportedly said he and Pappagallo went to the storage facility to get Pappagallo’s belongings, but once they were there, Pappagallo began burglarizing other storage units. Overton said he then joined him in stealing items.

Overton has two felony convictions and six misdemeanor convictions. Bail was set at $240,000 by Judge Thomas M. Jaworski on first appearance. Overton remains in the Alachua County Jail as of this writing.

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