A Plant City resident who allegedly stole $275,000 worth of jewelry has been released on bond, and much of the jewelry that he is thought to have pawned has not been found and returned to the victim.
Michael Dwayne Edward, 45, was arrested Thursday, June 11, with charges that included grand theft, providing false information on a pawnbroker form and dealing in stolen property.
On May 14, the Plant City resident allegedly stole the jewelry from a home on West Reynolds Street, where he was doing maintenance work.
“He did not break in,” overseeing Plant City Police officer Tony Gamez said. “They were acquaintances, and he was doing work for [the victim].”
The victim had a loose bed post.
“He just said that he could fix it,” the victim said.
The victim kept her jewelry box underneath her mattress. When they lifted the mattress out of the way so he could work, she said that Edward saw the jewelry box. She put it aside so that Edward could work on the bed.
“He asked me to go downstairs to get him something to measure with,” the victim said.
Shortly after, the victim said Edward finished his work, replaced the mattress and said that he needed to run to the store to get more wood because the bed was in danger of breaking again.
Edward did not return until a few days later when the victim was spending time with a relative.
“He was acting weird,” the victim said. “I think he was seeing if I realized it was gone yet.”
At the time, the victim had not noticed that the jewelry was missing. She reported the box missing a few days later, on June 4, when her bed broke again and the mattress was removed.
According to the police report, property stolen included one blue diamond “Evil Eye” gold ring worth $10,000; two Rolex watches each worth $5,800; one white-gold tennis bracelet worth $8,000; two sets of diamond earrings; several miscellaneous bracelets and rings; three gold necklaces and one male’s gold ring, among other pieces.
Edward was arrested one week later.
Some of the jewelry was sold to pawn shops in the Plant City and St. Petersburg areas, but much of it is still missing. As of right now, the jewelry that has been found is on hold. The victim said that in order to obtain it again, she must buy it back.
“It is still an ongoing investigation,” Gamez said.
Edward was released from jail June 18. His bond was $22,500, including a $7,500 bond for the false information on the pawnbroker form and a $15,000 bond for dealing in stolen property. The bond was brought down from a nearly doubled amount.
This is not Edward’s first arrest. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, he was previously arrested in Plant City in 2005, also for third degree grand theft. Other 2005 charges, include criminal mischief, trespassing on a construction site and burglary of a structure.
“He paints a real good picture of what a good guy he is,” the victim said, who did not know of Edward’s other arrest until the investigation began.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.