Maurice Mercer

Two men have been arrested in a case that has involved the theft of seven air conditioning units in Lehigh Acres.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to 2601 39th St. SW in Lehigh concerning a report of a residential burglary on June 29 at around 1:02 a.m. in the morning.

A witness at the scene told deputies his dog had started growling so he looked outside and saw a strange vehicle in the driveway at that address which is a vacant residence. The witness heard banging inside so he took the tag number from the vehicle and saw a person go into the residence, Sheriff’s investigators said.

The witness returned to his home and called 911 at which time he provided a description of the vehicle and the tag number. He watched as the vehicle sped from the area with the lights off, officials said.

Deputies responding to the area located the vehicle and made contact with the driver, Marcus Creal, 38, and the passenger, Maurice Mercer, 31.

Marcus Creal

At the house, deputies saw the copper coil from the air handler lying on the driveway. The copper pipe that runs from the outside air conditioner unit to the inside air handler had been pulled from the wall and was lying there as well, they said.

A property manager confirmed she had been at the home the previous day and these items were intact at that time. There was also evidence the back sliding glass door had been forced open since her last visit.

Both Maurice Mercer and Marcus Creal were arrested and charged with burglary of a dwelling and grand theft for their roles in this incident.

Authorities said that as this crime was being committed, detectives with Bravo District CID had just identified Maurice Mercer as the suspect in six previous air conditioning metal thefts. He was identified from video that had been recovered from the scene.

On June 21, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to six businesses along Joel Blvd. that were victimized when their air conditioners were dismantled and the copper coils removed from within.

Video surveillance captured images of a heavy set black male with facial hair, approximately six feet, two inches, wearing black sandals, gloves, shorts, a light colored shirt and carrying a small backpack style bag. The male walked into the camera’s view and began to remove the screws from the air conditioner unit housing using a tool he brought with him.

One of the detectives was familiar with Maurice Mercer and immediately recognized him as the person in the images, investigators said.

Maurice Mercer has been charged with grand theft for stealing the copper at each of the following businesses:

1. Botanica Baba Kloarde, 522 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

2. Donagollo Cuban Café, 522 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

3. Victory Tae Kwan Do, 516 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

4. KC’S Variety Shop, Inc., 516 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

5. Jacks On Joel, 510 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

6. Victory International Church, 518 Joel Boulevard, Lehigh Acres.

The investigation is continuing.