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Ex-Employee Charged With Stealing From Cantonment Business
January 13, 2017
A now-former employee has been arrested for stealing equipment from a Cantonment business and then pawning it.
Michael Anthony Patterson, 44, is charged with multiple counts of felony providing false owner information on pawned items, multiple counts of dealing in stolen property and additional counts of grand theft.
Patterson allegedly stole two Honda generators valued at $2,000 from that garage of A-1 Small Engines on Highway 29 while he was employed at the business. He then pawned both generators for $310 total at a Pensacola pawn shop, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. The business owner was able to pay the $310 and recover the generators after they were identified by serial numbers and unique markings.
He is also charged with stealing and pawning additional items, including plasma cutters and welding equipment. A-1 was able to buy back most of the items at pawn, except for one plasma cutter.
Patterson remained in the Escambia County Jail where he is being held without bond.
Comments
16 Responses to “Ex-Employee Charged With Stealing From Cantonment Business”
I used to be friends with Mike some years ago. Sad to see he’s stooped this low. Prayers for his family
The pawn business is organized legal crime!!! The laws need fixing to protect the victims.
So sad. A-1 seems like a very honest business. Too bad, this man did not learn from there good qualities. He must want money for drugs. That can drive a person.
Wow, lost a good job & prison bound, too bad. If the owner can produce the serial #s the stuff should have went on a hotsheet that pawnshop owners receive, preventing this kind of incident. Sad that a man will risk ruining his life for a bit of cash.
I wish there was some sort of way to get restitution in events like this. For many of us who have been robbed, getting our items back is more important than throwing someone in jail.
If you could find someway to make them pay back threefold for what they stole, that would make me happier than paying $40,000 of taxes to take care of them per year.
The problem is, most of the people who steal never keep money for long in the first place, and would never pay.
I just keep thinking and hoping, though. I wish our criminal justice system would be able to give restitution to those who have been wronged, rather than just punish someone with prison and call it even.
Glad to see A1 got some closure on this.
Stealing from someone is so very low.
It’s to easy to ask for help it’s better to steal if you don’t believe me ask this thief and dummy oh yeah and don’t get another job either lol
I have to agree with M in Bratt, who is the thief here ? I do business with A-1 and A-1 tires both places will treat you right.
A-1 shouldn’t have to pay to get their property back. The pawn shop could have written it off at the end of the year as a lost. It’s sad people have to steal. You had a job some don’t don’t have a pot to piss in and they don’t go around stealing. Sorry excuse for a person.
Please don’t put the blame on the pawn shops. A lot of people use them for short term loans and do not have paper work to prove the property is theirs. The pawn shops by law have to keep good records as to who sold or pawned the item. If you buy something at “a real good price” and then find out it’s stolen who is at fault. A lot of stolen items are just sold person to person in parking lots and the owner never gets it back.
@Kyle; I think that if you check the statutes, you will find that the pawn shop lobbyists have accomplished getting the pawn shops exempted from most of the laws regarding receiving stolen property. Your contention that this guy “wouldn’t have been caught if he didn’t pawn the items” is a circular argument. Maybe he wouldn’t have stolen the items if he didn’t have a ready outlet at a pawn shop to sell them.
A writ of replevin would have allowed the victim to recover their property without charge. You have to file court documents. The items would have been placed on hold until the matter is resolved. My guess is that this guy wouldn’t have been caught if he didn’t pawn the items.
There is something dreadfully wrong with a system that allows pawn shops to buy stolen property without facing any consequences. If any other citizen buys stolen property, they face possible charges, and the property is immediately impounded and returned to the rightful owner. When a pawn shop buys stolen property and it is discovered, the rightful owner has to “buy the property back”. Our lawmakers need to close this loophole so that pawn shops are held to the same standard as everybody else. Without this system of legalized fences, maybe crime rates would drop because criminals could not readily dispose of their stolen goods.
It doesn’t seem right that A-1 would have to buy back their own stolen equipment. Aren’t pawn shops held responsible for dealing in stolen property? You would think that they would require a bill of sale as proof of ownership…. especially since it was obvious these pieces of equipment were brand spanking new!
Dang dude, the people at A-1 are pretty nice people. Nice enough to give you a job and you crap on them for $310 really ? They probably would’ve even loaned you money if you needed it that bad. I’m no angel but dang your 44, time to straighten up.
Scott/Mike, you just can’t help them all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood there and watched both of you not only help customers out that couldn’t quiet afford to pay for what they were wanting, but also do the same for the ones that work for you all. Keep doing what both of you have done for so many years. I know it’s hard to believe at times, but they’re more good apples in the basket than bad ones. You all take care. Mike Amerson