Gainesville Police arrested a local man early Sunday morning after police said he stole and sold more than $300 in figurines and playsets from his roommates’ children.
On Nov. 2, Graden Olliedees Smith, 35, began selling Disney Infinity figurines and playsets to the GameStop located at 3548 SW Archer Road, according to a police report.
The 17 figurines and two playsets belonged to Heather Lee Houghtling’s three children.
Smith and his girlfriend had been living with the Houghtlings for about six weeks, she said. She asked Smith to leave Nov. 17 because she suspected he was using drugs.
Some of the items were given to the children — ages 2, 3, and 6 — last Christmas, Houghtling said. They noticed the missing figurines and playsets Saturday, during 6-year-old Emelie’s birthday party.
During the party, one of Emelie’s friends gave her a figurine of the queen from "Sleeping Beauty."
When the family opened up the carrying case that once held their playsets and other figurines, however, it was empty.
"She was confused, upset," Houghtling said. "She didn’t know where they went."
When the toys went missing, Houghtling called Smith herself.
"I said, ‘You didn’t steal from me, you stole from my kids,’" she said. "And he told me that he didn’t think of it that way."
Smith earned $38.42 from selling the figurines, according to the report.
At the store, Smith signed and provided a thumbprint on a secondhand dealer’s bill of sale, stating the property was not stolen, rented or leased – and that he was the sole owner, according to the report.
He provided his name, date of birth, address and driver’s license number on both forms he filled out.
Police arrested Smith on charges of grand theft from a dwelling, fraud and dealing in stolen property. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail where, as of press time, he remains in lieu of a $30,000 bond.
Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo
