- WQTC 102.3
Florida man charged with burglary, blames horse
He did not ride his horse to the "Old Town Road" but rather to a home on Shalimar Street in Pasco County, Florida.
The problem: the horse wasn't his, and neither was the house. And now he definitely can't ride no more.
Lonnie Maddox, 52, of Spring Hill, Florida brought a horse along as he broke into a house owned by Steve Ferguson. This isn't the first time the home, which Ferguson plans to rent, has been targeted by burglars. So Ferguson installed a fence and security cameras. He was alerted by the system when a man appearing to be Maddox entered his property, horse in tow.
"Maybe a bicycle or a truck, but a horse?" Ferguson told Bay News 9 in Tampa. "Very surprised."
Both a deputy and Ferguson confronted Maddox on site. Maddox claimed he was on the property looking for the horse.
And yet surveillance footage shows a man identified as Maddox attempting to enter the house through the front door, as he leads the horse along beside him.
According to the homeowner, nothing was taken but $100 in damage was done to the house.
Authorities say Maddox "borrowed" the horse. It has since been returned to its owners. Maddox was charged with burglary.