LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Citrus crops are ripe and ready to pick this time of year, but sometimes those who are doing the picking are actually stealing.
- Lake Co. deputies say they take farm theft very seriously
- Stealing 1 to 300 pounds of fruit is a 1st degree felony
- Stealing over 300 pounds of fruit is a 3rd degree felony
The Florida Department of Agriculture calls this farm theft, and there are some big penalties if you get caught.
Faruck Abashad immigrated to Florida two years ago. It was his dream to own a citrus farm. What he didn't expect though was theft from people stopping to pick his fruit.
“I asked the guy what he was doing, and he said he was filling his car with oranges to take to his family,” Abashad said.
He wouldn't mind if people asked for a few oranges politely, but he doesn't want people filling up their car trunks with pounds of his fruit.
Under Florida law, the act of stealing fruit usually includes two crimes being committed — the first is trespassing, which carries a third degree misdemeanor, and the second crime is called farm theft. The penalty varies depending on how much fruit is stolen.
If you take fruit worth over $300, that's a third-degree felony — grand theft.
Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies say they take farm theft very seriously and will apply maximum penalties to those who break the law.