A Summerfield woman accused of squatting in a home she was ordered to leave is now facing felony charges after deputies say she tried to cash out on the appliances on her way out.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence on Southeast 103rd Avenue after receiving a report of a washer and dryer that had allegedly been sold without permission.
The property owner told deputies a woman identified as Candice Meshelle Mackey had been staying in the home without authorization and had recently been served a notice to vacate. The deadline to leave the residence was approaching when, according to the report, a neighbor called to say the home’s Frigidaire washer and dryer had been sold.
That neighbor told deputies his own machines had stopped working and that Mackey offered to sell him the set for $150. After learning the appliances may not have belonged to her, he attempted to return them and get his money back, but told deputies she refused.
The property owner valued the washer and dryer at approximately $1,800 and said they were already in the home when it was rented to her nephew.
Another neighbor also told deputies she recognized the appliances as the same set that had long been inside the residence.
When deputies spoke with Mackey, the affidavit states she gave multiple accounts of when and how she obtained the washer and dryer, eventually claiming she bought them from an unidentified person who allegedly stole them from the same home. Deputies noted she was unable to provide proof of ownership or produce the alleged seller.
Based on those statements and witness accounts, deputies arrested Mackey on charges of grand theft between $750 and $5,000 and dealing in stolen property.
She was transported to the Marion County Jail. Bond was listed at $2,500.
