JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Three men have been arrested for burglarizing the concession stand at the Mandarin Athletic Association and causing $3,000 in damage and losses.
They were even captured on a surveillance video we first showed you back in February, ransacking the stand. However, the video isn't what got them all caught.
Action News obtained all three arrest reports, which shed some light on how these men were captured. We spoke with one of their mothers, who was too emotional to appear on camera as she turned her son in.
The video shows the trio coming in ready to do some damage. One tries to pry a cash register open with a crowbar, then they all turn their attention to gathering drinks and snacks. Finally, they take the knee-high safe and wheel it right out the front door with $400 inside.
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"I still can't believe that it happened, but it feels great that justice was served," said Wes Benwick of the Mandarin Athletic Association.
Police just arrested 20-year-old Malcolm Douglas on Monday, about one week after we told you about the arrests of 17-year-old Jesse Legrand and 21-year-old William Whisenant, who was turned in by his own mother.
"I'm glad that she did it. I think she did the right thing. It obviously led to the arrests of the other two," said Benwick.
Benwick hasn't let this break MAA's spirits as spring football is in full swing. Now, he said the process can officially begin to replace the two iPads and other broken and stolen items.
"Hopefully it's going to help those kids learn a lesson, pay restitution to the park and to the city and allow MAA to recover and get back on our feet," Benwick said.
Benwick said at least one of the suspects played at the MAA as a kid. He believes Douglas wrote them a series of emails posing as someone else, apologizing for the crime and asking to be forgiven.
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