A resident of The Villages has been implicated in the theft of a 6-foot tall air compressor from a local tire shop.

Jeffrey Joseph Dolence, 50, who lives at 17345 SE 80th Biltmore Ave. in the Village of Calumet Grove, is facing felony charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property in connection with the theft of the heavy equipment July 30 at Tuffy’s Tire & Auto Service in Summerfield.

Dolence’s 2011 Chevrolet truck and its license plate were reportedly caught on surveillance at the business when the theft occurred in the wee hours.

Brandon Earl Rutledge, 33, of Summerfield, had already been arrested in the case. He admitted he had been smoking methamphetamine when he was asked to join in the air compressor heist.

Interviewed at the jail by a detective, Rutledge claimed he only knew Dolence by the name “Wood.” He also identified Dolence in a photo lineup, leading to his arrest.

Dolence’s truck had been spotted in connection with a suspicious incident in 2021. In that incident, ammunition, a hypodermic needle and glass pipes for smoking narcotics were found in the truck.

Dolence has a long criminal history, including a 2018 arrest in which a woman said she had been threatened with a gun and choked to the point of being dizzy before escaping and hiding in a neighbor’s garden on Belhaven Loop in The Villages.  In May of 2018, Dolence was arrested by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies after allegedly burglarizing a vehicle in Oxford Oaks.  And in March of 2018, Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrested him after a woman claimed he threatened her with a gun. He also has multiple convictions for theft, including July 2017 in Marion County and July 2014 in Lake County.

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