Floridian Busted For Robbing Peter To Pay Paul

MARCH 19--A Florida teen who was seen by a neighbor pushing a stolen air conditioner down the street in a wheelbarrow gave cops a great reason for the theft.

He said he took the unit to sell for scrap because he had to get money to pay off a restitution debt to Walmart after he was caught shoplifting from the retailer.

According to a Volusia County Sheriff's Office report, Kimani Parker and a friend were seen at about 6:00 AM this morning "pushing a wheel barrow down the street with an air conditioner inside it." When confronted by deputies, the 18-year-old--who was described as "very nervous"--claimed "he has a civil obligation and owed Walmart $200.00" and was planning on selling the unit to a scrap yard.

While first claiming that he had permission to take the air conditioner, he then brought cops to the nearby home from which the unit was stolen and admitted that he and a buddy went out with a wheelbarrow and pruning shears "to steal an air conditioner." Police later found the place in the woods where Parker had stashed the unit.

Parker, seen in the above mug shot, was charged with burglary, grand theft, and criminal mischief and was booked into the county jail where he remains locked up on $5500 bond. That should give him ample time to hatch another plan to raise some more money, since once he deals with the criminal charges, he will likely have to come up with a way to pay off the homeowners who were left with "two cooper pipes extruding from the exterior wall" of their home. (2 pages)