You want to explain it to him? I haven't explained anything to him yet. You took the guns or you didn't take the guns. Sunday, April 21st, 2024, Fruitland Park, Florida. Police receive a call from an officer who reported spotting a man with an active warrant wanted by authorities riding a stolen electric bicycle southbound on US 441. Officers headed to the reported location to initiate a traffic stop. They needed to apprehend the suspect before he slipped away again. But who exactly was this man and what had he done? I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. J, put the bike down. Put the bike back down. Turn around. Put the chain on your back. Okay. Relax. Stop. You have anything on? You going to poke me? Me stick me to hurt me. Anyway, front left pocket. Front left pocket with a bait uh dual pocket. Dual thing. Okay. Do you want to explain it to him? I haven't explained anything to him yet. Oh, whose bike is that? I just said that. Do you have permission to have it? I kind of kind of well we discussed the fact that I I had it and I and I was um going to return it. He didn't have anything to say like like I bring it back. Oh, when did you discuss it? Um two days ago. Two days ago. Yes, sir. I didn't He didn't take it till yesterday. Or yesterday? I'm sorry. It's been a long day. Was he home when he took it? Yeah. Yes, sir. Huh? What's this? It's THC. Huh? I got to test it. Is it THC? Okay. The suspect, identified as Chase Allen Strong, was stopped by police and quickly placed in handcuffs. He admitted to stealing the electric bike the day before from his mother's house. But this arrest was about more than just a stolen bicycle. For days, Strong had been stealing valuables from the home of his mother and stepfather. It began with guns and jewelry while he was temporarily staying there. And over time, he began taking more and more until the thefts became so obvious that his mother and stepfather had to confront him. From that point on, things took a serious turn. I I I didn't call. Hold on a second. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer, have him present with you before, during any question. and you cannot afford to hire a lawyer. One will be appointed reput uh during any questioning. If you wish, you can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. You understand each of these rights that I've explained to you? Yes, sir. Having these rights in mind, do you want to talk to me? Yes, sir. Okay. So, why when did you get this bike? I don't know. I guess it was it's today Sunday and I guess it was yesterday morning. Okay. And how did you acquire the bike? Um I took it out of the garage. You took it out of the garage? Yes, sir. Okay. While they were home? Yes, sir. It was early in the morning, so I didn't want to wake him up. Okay. But I figured he wouldn't mind cuz it's he my car broke down and I needed a way to get around. And I did let him know that I had it and I sent him a picture of the bike and uh Oh. communicated and then I didn't hear back from him after that. Okay. What did he say when you said about the bike? You said you communicated it with him. What did he ask about the bike? He had no response actually after that. No response. Can you prove any of that? Yes, sir. Where how do you prove it? My phone. Where's it at? It's currently dead, but it is in my bag and so we can It's an Android device, so if you have a USBC charger, you can charge it up. But I'm sure he would. I mean, he's an honest man. I'm sure he would show you the tax decisions, too. Mhm. So, I feel like there must be something else some bigger issue here. A big You You think there must be a bigger issue? Why would you think that? Um because I I if someone borrowed my bike and told me they had it, I wouldn't Uh-huh. Oh, so you borrowed it without permission? Yes, sir. Oh, you know what that's called? What's it called? You're a smart guy. We've talked before. Permission is called theft. That's It's called theft. So, you stole it. Yes, sir. All right. I thought I thought if if a family member of mine had borrowed something without husky. Um, didn't they change all the locks in the house? Because they didn't want you there? Um, no sir. They They did change the locks, but they were afraid of the person I associate with being there. Okay. I I thought they changed locks because of you and they didn't want you there cuz you were pounding all their I didn't think that. I You didn't think that. How many guns do you own? When I said I want to ask you, how many guns How many guns did you steal? One, two, how many? I know more than you thought. Huh? No, sir. No. How many guns did you see? No guns. Strong confessed to his stepfather that he had taken items and either pawned or sold them. and he promised to get them back to avoid being charged. But the thefts continued to the point that his mother had to change the locks on the house. He didn't see his actions as theft. In his mind, the items were just borrowed, and he planned to return them someday, but his debts clearly made that nearly impossible. He refused to disclose how much he had actually stolen and only answered questions that wouldn't incriminate him. The truth was, the value of the stolen items was significant. You didn't steal any guns. Okay. How about fishing poles and rods and reels? I was under the impression belong to my lady and they were um we had an arrangement to for me to be able to return all their things on Monday. I don't And then she So they you thought they belonged to your late father or you're going to return them on Monday? I'm confused. Okay. And the initial and the reason I would the impetus of my motivation would be that they were belong to my late father and who's passed on and so you know therefore they were they covered in dust and inheritance and but I was not ever trying to take anything permanently from it was just I was using it for collateral you know in the pond um and then I would replace the items. How are you going to replace them? You have money. Why would you replace something that you thought belonged to your late father? And I thought you already got your inheritance. No, sir. That's financial um a trust fund is not quite the same as Okay. Well, fishing poles that are laying around are different anyway, right? Yes. Yes. Than a trust fund. Yeah. I'll stand however you want to say. Okay. Um just the chair here. Um I uh I didn't send ghost ceiling because I fully intended to place everything and then I had talked with my mom and Jamie about me being there Monday morning. Yeah. Um in order we can go together to shops and they redeem their items and then allow me to have like a payment plan with them and work it off. Okay. And so I'm I am taking um I don't understand what's going on now because then I I couldn't get a hold of them last night when my car was missing. And your car is missing. Who took your car? I I I assumed it was they had to they had it towed. I ran out of fuel um at the bottom of the 7-Eleven. Oh, and um Jamie was trying to help me get charged. What do you need me to cover seat? No, we just called in to come. As Strong spoke with officers, his nervousness became obvious. His responses were inconsistent and full of questionable excuses. He claimed to have spoken with his mother and stepfather the day before and said they had come to some kind of agreement. But if that were true, why had they filed the report? Among the items he had taken and sold were his mother's jewelry, 12 of his stepfather's firearms, and belongings from his late father. He clearly didn't grasp the seriousness of his actions or want to accept that what he had done was theft. Given his financial situation, the chances of recovering those items were slim. What exactly was he thinking? So, what were we just talking about this? Yeah. I mean, you don't have any obligation to explain anything to me. I'm just going to I just No. Well, I mean, you're you're honest about the the rods and the reels. How many of them? Uh, I didn't I don't have an account. How about mom's jewelry? That that one bracelet was two years ago and I didn't remember honestly until you didn't. So you stole the you took the jewelry 2 years ago. Yes. So that was a separate bad time in my life and um Okay. And I had forgotten about it and I moved on and um again my the idea of the idea of taking from my family upsets me greatly. Okay. And so why are you taking from your family on on a on a certain timeline which it's we we have discussed my mom and Jamie and I have discussed the situation and you took the guns or you didn't take the guns. That's what I'm confused on. You're still not I used the guns as collateral and we are going to retrieve them and return them to their owners at the early as their owners. Who are the owners? Uh well first then the mom and Jamie. Huh? Your mom and Jamie. That's their guns. Okay. So, how many guns? I I don't I have to like the amount. Um how many you think? Just a guess. A few. I don't want to necessarily I know just a guess. I mean a few couple. A couple cuz there's a gray area too. Okay. I give it to me some, you know, for free. Basically, okay. Giving someone something and then taking from you are two different things. Just cuz I give something to you doesn't mean I get to take from you, right? You're you're right. And when I'm trying to deprive them of the thing that they had, like I don't I don't think I deserve like in my mind, theft is taking something because you think you deserve a more person. And that's never at all. Chase strong. But Ellen is my name. Yes, sir. A L. But I don't my defense is obviously sound ridiculous and uh I don't know this at this juncture. Okay. Um I just it is what it is. They I was under the impression that we would meet up Monday and everything would be resolved and well I I I thought as far as I know you probably did have an agreement until you went into the house and stole the bike while they were home. But I I told him immediately about he didn't say bring it back or that's not cool Chase or you know why would you do that or or like I I said I have it. I don't have you know he knew my car. Was it then? And they had that my car towed to their house. So they knew that. I thought that was like even Steven like my $30,000 car was at their house and I the bike and Oh, you got him. Oh, okay. His statements remained inconsistent. He refused to say how many guns he had taken and what he did admit to did not match the official report. It became clear he had stolen far more than he was letting on. He appeared to be minimizing the situation in an attempt to avoid jail time. He had once confessed to his stepfather that he was afraid of going to prison, but confessing to the victims doesn't place him above the law. He had already been forgiven once. A second time would be just too much. Now, he would have to face the consequences of his actions. I was looking up his phone number. Cool. Thank you, sir. I just I didn't think he he minded it. I You didn't think he minded it? I really didn't. Everything else you're going to go do on Monday to go pick up and you didn't think taking one more thing wasn't going to I'm not stealing it. I mean, I'm not I wasn't going to sell it for money. I'm just using a transportation. Okay. My Where we Where are we going? I was Well, I was checking at the tow impound lots to see if make sure my car wasn't there. Why would you just call tow impound? They did. Um the clean said that that they didn't have it, but the county sheriff's office said that they did tow my car, tow it, and so I was just trying to fill in pieces there. Um, I mean, wouldn't it be faster to make phone calls and just I did make phone calls and I just figured it'd be prudent too. Where are you staying? Uh, infield a bad house. A bad house. Well, it's where I follow this girlfriend, I guess. Um, uh, to she was going to stay in there and then she asked for help with, you know, fixing it up and stuff and I ended up staying there. Then after this thing unfolded, I couldn't show my face, my family. I felt shame. Okay. So, what uh, so why are we doing all this? Is there at least a reason? It's It's just a little I I cuz I I thought I could I I borrow one thing for collateral and then I'll be able to make money back and then Well, I mean, why? You're still not telling me why. I'm sorry. Why? Good. I appreciate Huh. I'm I'm not I'm sorry. Okay. I'm I'm not understanding the question. Why Why are we Why do we need all this money? Oh, I was cuz I was trying to get the first item out of pond. Like it's like um So, you're stealing one more thing to get another thing? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Okay. So, how many how many items of jewelry is there that are mom's? None. Two years ago. And then what was one from two years ago? Is it the bracelet years ago? The bracelet? Yeah. Go ahead. Okay. Well, there's more than a bracelet that's missing. Well, that's possible, but I'm not responsible for that. Oh, I and you can ask my mom and Jamie and I've been 100% honest from the get go at every at every because it's just I'm not going to deceive anything. I thought that's what I'm doing. You say so. I mean, it sounds a little sounds a little squirly. I'll be honest with you. Okay. Well, I'm doing a poor job. It's it's funny. Yeah. Or maybe I'm wrong about all. Strong kept trying to justify his behavior, even claiming that he hadn't stolen the bike, but that his stepfather had lent it to him earlier. That was clearly a lie considering his stepfather was the one who filed their theft report. The suspect refused to tell the truth or see himself as a criminal. Authorities were no longer interested in excuses and would proceed based on the seriousness of his offenses. Well, you already admitted to stealing the bike. I mean, I don't I didn't think of stealing it. You said you took it without permission and you said that's called theft. But I have permission after I take it out. No. Having permission after you take it by who? The owner. Jamie. Oh. Well, we'll see when he gets here. Okay. We'll see if he changed his mind. Okay. And if not, then I'll take the and I'll do it. Whatever. He'll do what's right. And if that's me going away with y'all, then that's it. Like that. All right. You got yours on? Oh, we'll wait. We'll wait. We'll switch later. We can have him have a seat in my car, though. I'll put the air on high. I mean, there's no reason for him to be standing out here in front of everybody. What was that? I didn't want my brother and sister or something. Well, yeah. That's why I'm putting you in the car. I appreciate it. All right. You can step on it. Yeah. Just slide your butt in. Put your feet in. No, you're you're not being a buttthead. Go treat you like one. I put the air on high. One Strong was placed in the patrol car. Officer searched his backpack and inside they found a glass pipe with white crystalline residue. A digital scale with traces of white powder, a ballistic panel from a bulletproof vest, 219 tablets of modifil and a folded piece of paper containing methamine residue. Chase Allen Strong, age 31, was arrested and charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft, possession of a bulletproof vest during the commission of a felony, possession of a schedule 4 drug without a prescription, and possession of paraphernalia. Depending on the severity of the offenses and his prior record, Strong may face multiple years in prison or under certain conditions, probation.