Lake Wales Police Department Press Release
On Thursday, June 16, 2022 at approximately 10:02 p.m., Sergeant Andrew Brown was patrolling Scenic Bluff, a new Highland Homes housing development under construction in Lake Wales at the corner of Old Scenic Highway and North City Limits Road. There had been several construction site thefts in the city and he was determined to stop any further thefts. Sergeant Brown located a silver F150 pulling out of the new housing development, which has no residents yet. The clues continued to build. A piece of cloth covered the license plate of the F150 and there were numerous pieces of lumber in the bed.
Sergeant Brown conducted a traffic stop on the F150. Robert Albritton, age 36 of Lake Wales, was driving and Kristina KaeMorrison, age 35 of Lake Wales, was the passenger. Sergeant Brown learned Albritton had been driving on a suspended licensesince March 19, 2019 and cited on May 4, 2020 for driving on a suspended license. Sergeant Brown arrested Albrittion and continued the investigation. Officers were able to determine Albritton stole the lumber with Morrison’s help from one of the job sites. Each job site was marked with a permit box, which stated, “WARNING designated construction site. Trespassers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” The total cost of the lumber stolen was $99.47.
Albritton was arrested for trespassing on a construction site, petit theft and driving on a suspended license. This is not Albritton’s first arrest or theft. Morrison was arrested for trespassing on a construction site and petit theft.
In an already difficult economy and the increased cost of building materials, suspects like this increase the cost of build even more and make it more difficult on the law-abiding citizen to own a home. The Lake Wales Police Department is working hard to protect our businesses and citizens and in our own way, fight inflation.
