Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office recently arrested a Tampa man they say stole from a man who lost everything when Hurricane Helene made landfall in Taylor County.
Deputies say Anthony Gross, 23, was in the Dekle Beach area on Monday with a company that provides laundry and restroom trailers as part of the Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Taylor County.
According to PCSO, Gross found a fishing pole that belonged to a man whose home was demolished in the storm and put it in his work vehicle to take home.
A concerned citizen saw the theft and told a deputy that was nearby.
Deputies who spoke to Gross said he admitted that he stole the fishing pole.
Gross was arrested for theft during a state of emergency, which is a felony.
He was taken to the Taylor County Jail.