UNITED STATES-MEAT THEIVES BANG TO RIGHTS.
A Gainesville police officer, on duty during a burglary patrol, spotted two men pilfering slabs of frozen meet from a truck Sunday nightfficers arrested Larry Douglas Mallard, 53, of Gainesville, and Gariel Ray Hollingsworth, 44, of Melrose, on charges of burglary and theft, said Lt. Steve Weaver Monday morning.
Officer Edward Ratliff had been assigned to a burglary detail when he spotted two men unloading frozen meat from a refrigerated tractor trailer at 1791 NE 23rd Ave. at about 11:45 p.m. The pair were inside a fenced compound. One man immediately threw up his hands when he spotted the officer. The other drove away in a truck to a business at 1920 NE 23rd Ave. where he eventually surrendered to police who converged on the location.
Weaver said officers recovered 520 pounds in prime rib beef, more than 20 slabs of frozen meat, valued at more than $2,500. Some of the meat was located at the business the one suspect had fled to when he was spotted.
The meat had been stored in the locked trailer where it eventually was going to be delivered to Publix, Weaver said.
One of the suspects later told police he knocked a padlock off the trailer using a hammer.
Both men were being held at the Alachua County jail without bond Monday morning.