Port Charlotte suspects steal chainsaws, one tries to sell back to victim

Two Port Charlotte burglary suspects are behind bars after one made an attempt to sell stolen chainsaws taken over the weekend back to the victim of the theft.

The suspects, Rustin Rodgers, 36, and Mario Miller, 34, face Burglary, Grand Theft, and Dealing in Stolen Property charges. Now, they are in Charlotte County Jail.

After informing Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday of a theft of two of his chainsaws removed from a toolbox in his vehicle overnight, the Port Charlotte victim contacted Rodgers, who lives nearby, to see if he knew anything. The victim told Rodgers about an $800 reward if the stolen property was found.

According to the CCSO press release, Rodgers told the victim he knew where the chainsaws were, wanted $1,000 for the stolen property and made a request not to call law enforcement. Detectives went to Rodgers’ home to investigate. The burglary suspect gave deputies the stolen property and gave a statement that may have implicated Miller.

Soon afterwards, detectives determined Rodgers and Miller went for a walk through the victim’s neighborhood around the time of the theft. They also sent each other text messages sharing the stolen chainsaws around the time they were taken, per the press release. Detectives concluded the burglary suspects attempted to sell the stolen property back to the victim.

“Timely reporting of a crime or a suspicious incident provides deputies the best opportunity to investigate what occurred,” Bill Prummell, Charlotte County Sheriff, said in a press release. “The victim, in this case, did the right thing by calling law enforcement right away, preventing additional burglaries by these suspects.”