Some of them worked for months in the dirt. They spent hours clearing the plot, building up the soil, watering the plants and covering them during freezes.
So when University Police investigated the theft of more than $2,700 worth of produce at UF’s Organic Gardens cooperative, gardeners said what they lost transcended a price tag.
“You know, there’s really not a dollar value on it,” said Ginny Campbell, plot coordinator at the garden.
The thefts lasted from October to January, but on Thursday, UPD filed sworn complaints against a woman from Sorrento, Fla. The complaints charge 25-year-old Caitlin M. Fogarty with several counts of theft, criminal mischief and dealing in missing property.
The thefts started out small — just rows of seedlings at first. The plants varied: kale, romaine, fennel. Soon, Campbell said, entire rows of plants disappeared. Cabbage, carrots and swiss chards went missing. Some immature plants were ripped out and left on the ground. Other plants were trampled on. Even tools like wheelbarrows and buckets were missing.
But Campbell said the thefts were sporadic.
Giacomo Ciani, the garden’s co-president, said a suspicious van steered police in Fogarty’s direction. On Jan. 4., one of the last gardeners to leave said she noticed a brown van parked toward the entrance. He said she thought it was strange because gardeners usually parked by the plot. She snapped a picture, and police found out Fogarty was driving the car.
“The license plate was the real game-changer,” Ciani said.
Officers went to Fogarty’s home to interview her, where she said she stole from the garden five times. She sold the items at a produce market in Mount Dora, UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber wrote in a statement.
When officers found Fogarty, Campbell realized the two had exchanged several emails in March 2010. Fogarty wanted a plot in the garden.
When a spot opened, Campbell emailed her but said she couldn’t remember if Fogarty ever took the plot.
Christine Noonan, a UF animal science senior, is vice president of the garden. The 23-year-old said officers are discussing security measures for the garden, but it is doubtful any will be taken.
“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Noonan said. “We don’t really expect anything like this to happen again.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 2/11/2014 under the headline "Police: Plotting thief took from UF garden"]
