Holiday Man Behind Bars After Telling 79-Year-Old He's a Caregiver

A Holiday man remained in jail Monday after being accused recently of walking into the home of a 79-year-old man who uses a wheelchair and telling him that he was taking over as the man’s caregiver, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

In the last week of October, Darby Simmons, 22, entered a residence in the Buena Vista Lane area in Holiday, according to an incident report from the Sheriff’s Office.

Simmons, of Silver Spur Drive, told the man inside he was sent by the man’s caregiver to take over for her, according to the report. The man was confused and did not know if Simmons was telling the truth.

The man saw Simmons rummage through dressers in his bedroom, although he didn’t see Simmons take anything, according to the report

Then Simmons told the man it was time for bed.

The man said he wasn’t ready for bed, and Simmons told the man “don’t give me any lip” and wheeled the man in his wheelchair into the bedroom. When the man came back out minutes later, Simmons had left the residence.

The man’s wallet was missing $20, and his phone was on top of the refrigerator, where he couldn’t reach it. The man later told his caregiver, who was not at the residence when this happened, about the incident.

The caregiver, who knows Simmons, told authorities she later confronted Simmons on Facebook.

Simmons was arrested Nov. 21 on a charge resulting from a different case.

Simmons was charged Saturday with burglary of an occupied dwelling for the incident involving the 79-year-old. He is behind bars with a bail set at $20,000