Three Orlando men were arrested early this morning after deputies caught them carting away two air conditioner units from the Westwood Church on north Apopka Road.
Michael Ferris, 26 years; Richard McCasland, 27; and Peter Neal, 27, have been charged with grand theft, burglary of a structure with damage and criminal mischief of a place of worship.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies initiated a traffic stop around 1:32 a.m. on Thursday morning in the area of Lakeville Road, after they observed a Buick vehicle commit several traffic violations, upon leaving the Westood Church on 4412 N. Apopka Vineland Road.
Deputies confirmed two air-conditioning condenser units tied to the top of the car, after stopping the vehicle.
Further inquiry led deputies to the Westwood Church where investigators discovered four large commercial air conditioner units disassembled and stripped.
Daniel Daley, the pastor of the church, who had been alerted to the theft by an alarm company, confirmed to deputies, the stolen air conditioning condenser unit and damage to church property. Daley estimated the theft of the units and damage to be more than $100,000.
Ferris, McCasland and Neal were arrested and taken into custody. The suspects who have been charged with grand theft, burglary of a structure with damage and criminal mischief, were booked into the Orange County Jail around 4:30 am on Thursday, January 20, 2011.
