In an early-morning heist, a Gainesville man made off with two vacuums Friday, police said.
At about 6 a.m., Barry Joseph Mitchell, 32, smashed the display window at National Vacuum, located at 2225 NW Sixth St., before stealing the vacuums and leaving, according to a police report.
When police arrived at the store, they found one of the vacuums nearby, but the other, a “very distinct purple ‘Dyson’-brand ball-shaped vacuum cleaner,” worth $600, was still missing, according to the report.
Police then called nearby pawn shops, telling them to look out for the vacuum, according to the report. Exactly 10 minutes after notifying TB Goods Pawn shop in Gainesville, an associate at the store called police saying the vacuum had just shown up, according to the report.
Officers arrived to find Mitchell trying to sell the device, which still had its price tag and paperwork from National Vacuum on it, according to the police report. The store’s owner identified it as the missing one.
Mitchell told police he was “being stupid” when he decided to steal the vacuums. Police would eventually find a pipe in his pants pocket that tested positive for crack cocaine.
Police arrested Mitchell on charges of burglary to an unoccupied structure, grand theft between $300 and $4,999 and attempting to deal in stolen property, among others. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $22,000 bond.
