A man who deputies say steered an East Naples equipment rental company wrong when he ordered a pricey piece of heavy machinery in 2007 and never returned it was arrested Thursday.Brian Hamilton, 36, of Flora Home, Fla., was charged with grand theft.
Arrest reports gave this account:
Hamilton called The Equipment Source, 3727 Prospect Ave., around 5 p.m. on July 27, 2007, pretending to be a representative for a business called Phoenix & Associates. Hamilton said he needed to rent a skid steer loader and asked that it be delivered to a job site in North Naples ASAP so that he could finish a job over the weekend.
A 2007 Mustang model skid steer loader valued at $36,000 was dropped off at the job site with no one present. The following Monday, the loader was gone from the site.
A lengthy investigation by CCSO deputies found Hamilton rented a flatbed trailer, which he used to transport the loader to Louisiana to do side jobs for his concrete work. When he was through he sold the loader to a pool company in Baton Rouge for $23,000.
Deputies arrested Hamilton at the Collier County jail, where he was being held since May on unrelated charges, including driving on a suspended license.
Deputies recovered the loader, which was in good condition.
