DUNNELLON, FL (352today.com) – Great teamwork between Marion County entities and the sheriff’s office, vigilance and timing led to the arrest of a Dunnellon man for his part in burglaries, petty theft, criminal mischief, property damage and drug paraphernalia possession.
Adam Eugene Davis, 36, Dunnellon, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. He has been charged with six felonies–burglary of an unoccupied structure; drug possession of a controlled substance without prescription; larceny petit theft, second degree and third subsequent offence; damage of property; criminal mischief, damaged property $200 to $1,000; trespassing on a posted construction site; and burglary of an unoccupied site, unarmed. He was also charged with the following misdemeanors: larceny petit theft, second degree, first offense and possession of drug paraphernalia.
An Ocala woman, Asherlee Jeanette Armstrong, 50, was arrested on Oct. 15 in conjunction with the same alleged crime. She has been charged with violation of parole; burglary of an unoccupied structure, unarmed; and felony and larceny petit theft, second degree, first offense, misdemeanor.
How the arrest and charges unfolded
Marion County Code Enforcement contacted the Marion County’s Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 15 in reference to a past theft of scrap metal from the Highlands Recycling Center in Dunnellon.
The business is surrounded by a 6-foot-high fence which is locked when the facility isn’t in operation.
Code enforcement informed a MCSO deputy that there was an ongoing issue at the incident location, where unknown perpetrators were entering the business through a hole that had been cut in the fence on the south side of the property. The suspects were allegedly stealing large amounts of scrap metal, appliances and other items from the location.
Law enforcement was advised that surveillance cameras had been placed on the property and had captured footage of three people from Oct. 14, removing scrap metal from the incident location after hours. It appeared from the footage it was two men and one woman removing various items from the property.
Marion Solid Waste loads the scrap metal and transports it to Trademark Metals Recycling in Ocala, who is compensated on the market price of scrap metal. The total loss from the incidents was estimated at $100.
Suspicious vehicle
During the time the incident occurred, a MCSO deputy spotted a U-Haul box truck with an Arizona tag in the vicinity of the incident location. The deputy had attempted a traffic stop, which caused the occupants to flee in the vehicle, and eventually abandon it. The driver wasn’t located, but two of the occupants were, including Davis; both were released from the scene without being charged.
However, when the box truck was opened, it contained a large amount of scrap metal. And when the MCSO deputy reviewed the body worn camera footage, Davis was seen wearing clothes that matched one of the people from the recycling center’s surveillance video.
The deputy made contact with Armstrong, the woman in the surveillance video, who advised that Davis and the driver who fled picked her up in the Florida Highlands Subdivision; they then drove around together. Armstrong claimed she had been in contact with a MCSO property crimes detective and was trying to get the co-defendant picked up on his active warrants. She told the MCSO deputy that she and the two others went to the incident location, entered the recycling center and stole the scrap metal. The items that had been stolen were located within 100 feet of the structure on the enclosed property.
Putting the case together
MCSO contacted the state attorney’s office prior to making contact and advised that a burglary had been committed.
A MCSO detective on an unrelated case was canvassing the area on Oct. 16, when he made contact with the accused, Davis, who was a suspect in the unrelated case.
An incident search of the accused’s front left pocket yielded a piece of critical evidence: a rust-free length of white wire and a small cloth-like bag containing a glass pipe and white rocky substance.
The accused was advised of his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the MCSO detective, admitting that he took the piece of aluminum wire from a construction site where a new home was being built. He claimed he never went inside the dwelling and just took the small piece of wire on Oct. 15, around dusk, and that he had ridden his bike to the location. Davis reportedly told the detective the location was in the area of TimberWalk in southwest Ocala.
Unbeknownst to the accused, the detective had prior knowledge of a call for service in the area of TimberWalk regarding a burglarized construction home and approximately $50 worth of stolen copper.
The detective made contact with the individual who reported the incident, an electrician working at the location, who said the copper wire had been taken between 4 p.m. on Oct. 15 and the early morning hours of Oct. 16. The accused had admitted to being in the area of the incident location during that time frame.
Incriminating evidence
The detective sent a photo of the wire found on Davis to the electrician, who informed the deputy the white wire had been cut the previous day while he was installing it in the home under construction, and that the piece in Davis’s possession had been taken from within the structure in the garage.
The detective subsequently took the piece of wire to the incident location, where the complainant showed the deputy his wire cutter. By comparison, the conclusion was made that the victim’s wire cutter was used to cut the wire. The victim informed the detective that he never places wire he cuts inside of a dumpster, and that he scraps all his wire.
The victim also pointed out a no-trespassing sign that had been posted at the incident location, and the kitchen area of the house under construction where the copper wire was cut. A different wire cutter was then found in the vicinity of the theft. When the detective showed a picture of this second wire cutter to the accused, he said the wire cutter belonged to his friend. When asked again if he went inside the location, the accused repeated he took only the small piece of white wire.
The detective asked Davis for his DNA to compare to any found on the second wire cutter. The accused refused, stating that his DNA was on the wire cutter in any case, as he had used it just a few days prior.
DNA notwithstanding, authorities determined there was enough evidence to place Davis under arrest.
The complainant told the detective the cost to repair and replace the copper wire cut and stolen during the burglary was approximately $600.