$30K Worth Of Turtles Stolen From Breeder By Repairman: Sheriff

RIVERVIEW, FL — A Florida repairman is in jail after deputies said he stole around $30,000 worth of turtles from a breeder.

Marcos Cantos, the owner of Turtle Source in Estero, said he recently hired an appliance repairman to come to his facility to do some work. However, the breeder said he didn't get the kind of handyman service he'd hoped for.

"He needed a part, he was going to come back. We noticed a couple of things were missing when he left, but we didn't put two and two together," Cantos said.

According to Cantos, the repairman returned to his breeding facility last Wednesday. This time even more things were missing — including his favorite turtle, Hunchy.

Cantos said his breeding business is surrounded by surveillance cameras, which ultimately revealed the unfortunate truth of what happened: 18 turtles were stolen from his facility.

"It wasn't until I put the recordings into the hands of the detectives of Lee County until we were really able to figure out what happened and really see this guy just helping himself," Cantos said.

For Cantos, watching the video wasn't exactly easy.

"It felt really painful to watch. It was the sickest feeling in my stomach. I felt like I'd been violated every which way."

Along with the surveillance video, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said it used facial recognition software to help identify the suspect, which detectives said pointed to the repairman.

After gathering enough information, detectives traveled to Hillsborough County to the repairman's home.

"Detectives traveled to Hillsborough County to grab the suspect, recover those turtles and bring them back to Lee County," said Caitlin Anderson, the public information officer for the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

Jermaine Wofford, 47, of Riverview was ultimately charged with grand theft, according to jail records.

"We are still missing a few [turtles], but we did get some back, and it felt so good to know that the guy who did it was in custody," Cantos said. "They [Lee County Sheriff's Office] just take care of you so, so well. We can't thank them enough."

A judge recently gave Wofford a $50,000 surety bond. His next court appearance is at 8:30 a.m. April 11, jails records show.