Daytona Beach, FL - A man that the Volusia Sheriff's Office says wore a fake police badge or uniform while stealing from Home Depot and Lowe's stores across several counties, including Volusia, is now in custody. The Orange County Sheriff's Office arrested 47-year-old Callvester Smith yesterday at his home in Orlando.
VSO says Smith is a suspect in the theft of more than $50,000 from several stores over the last three months, with four of them happening in Volusia County. Sheriff's detectives Bill Weaver and Robert McCabe identified him. A warrant was obtained charging Smith with felony retail theft and falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer during the commission of a felony.
During the thefts, Smith would dress in a security guard's uniform or as an off-duty law enforcement officer, wearing a badge on a lanyard around his neck and carrying a gun in a holster on his waist.
Smith is in custody at the Orange County Jail. Bond on his Volusia County charges is $75,000. A judge’s order states Smith must be fitted with an ankle monitor if he’s released on bond. Additional charges are pending in 11 other incidents.
Smith has a significant criminal history that includes 41 felony charges and 20 convictions – including armed burglary, armed robbery, aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, and resisting an officer with violence – with nine state prison sentences and two escapes.
