Crime & Safety
FL Man Tried To Steal Generator Powering Traffic Light: Watch
A man accused of stealing a generator powering a traffic light in Hillsborough County told deputies he "thought someone set it out."
SUN CITY CENTER, FL — A man faces charges after trying to steal a generator powering a traffic light in Sun City Center, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office news release. (Watch bodycam footage from his arrest below.)
TECO workers stopped Soyal Zapata-Dye from taking the generator at the corner of Sun City Center Boulevard and Stoneham Drive. They gave deputies photos of the man and his license plate.
Deputies went to Zapata-Dye’s home, where they took him into custody. He was charged with grand theft during a state of emergency, a third-degree felony, the sheriff’s office said.
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“There’s a generator on (State Road) 674 that I saw and it had no lock on it and no name on it, so I thought someone set it out,” he can be heard telling deputies in bodycam footage from his arrest.
Watch the video footage below:
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