Kenneth Carl Parker Jr

A Lehigh Acres man is in the Lee County Jail today after he was charged with several felony counts of stealing more than $1,000 worth of meats from Maria’s restaurant at 1129 Homestead Rd. in Lehigh.

They charged Kenneth Carl Parker Jr., 39, of 2506 E. 10th Street. The suspect was charged after he was identified from surveillance video, according to a Sheriff’s report.

Investigators at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that on Sunday, Nov. 28, at around 9:50 p.m., deputies were sent to Maria’s restaurant after the owner said his large walk-in freezer had been burglarized. The investigation concluded with the suspect being accused of breaking into a freezer and stealing more than $1,000 worth of food, including various steaks, sausages, seafood and cheese cake, the report stated.

Detectives at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Bravo District Criminal Investigations Division gathered evidence and met with witnesses. Through the course of the investigation, Parker was identified as a suspect.

Parker is well-known to both law enforcement and the victim, the owner of Maria’s. He was arrested in May 2008 for the same crime, breaking into Maria’s and stealing food. In addition, he was just recently released from prison, authorities said.

Investigators said they arrested Parker on Wednesday, Dec. 1 and transported him to the Lee County Jail. He has been charged with four counts of burglary to a structure and four counts of grand theft, accusing him of making four trips in and out of the restaurant during the burglary, detectives said. He has also been charged with one count of dealing in stolen property, after being accused of selling some of the stolen food for money used to purchase crack cocaine.