POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A 41-year-old Lakeland woman is behind bars this week after authorities linked her to the late-night theft of a security camera from a Bartow home. Ashley Alyssa Pope was booked into the Sheriff’s Processing Center on March 20, ending an investigation into a crime that the victim claims was part of a recurring pattern.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on March 2, when a Ring camera was removed from a residence.
The victim immediately pointed investigators toward Pope, who is a friend of her grandson. According to the homeowner, this wasn’t the first time the hardware had gone missing; she told deputies that Pope had previously taken the exact same camera during past disputes with the grandson.
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Those earlier encounters had never been reported to the police.
Detectives were able to verify the victim’s suspicions through digital evidence. Investigation records show that Pope’s vehicle was tracked to the immediate area of the victim’s house at the precise time the camera was stolen.
Pope now faces legal consequences for the grab. She has been officially charged with one count of Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling, a second-degree felony, and one count of Petit Theft, a first-degree misdemeanor.
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