Video nails suspected Port Charlotte ring thief
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - A Charlotte County deputy arrested a 57-year-old Port Charlotte man for pocketing a valuable ring from a bar patron.
The ring, valued at $56,745, fell off the finger of a 73-year-old patron. The suspect, Brian Patrick Cooney, picked up the ring outside of Gatorz Bar & Grill Tuesday night and headed home.
The bar's general manager checked surveillance video that showed Cooney picking the ring off the ground and leaving the bar. The manager only knew the man as Brian.
The deputy viewed the video taken outside the bar and saw what appeared to be a ring fall on the ground from the left hand of the elderly customer. With the ring on the ground, the man known only as Brian is seen walking over to the ring, placed his right foot over it in an attempt to conceal, looked around, bent over and picked the ring up. He walked around, and then placed the ring in his pants pocket. Shortly after, the victim and other customers began looking for the ring but Brian did not assist; he then left the area.
When questioned later by a detective and deputy at his home Cooney initially denied knowing anything about the ring. After showing him the video Cooney claimed he had planned to return the ring to its owner tomorrow.
Cooney was arrested for grand theft from a person 65 or older and is in the Charlotte County Jail on $25,000 bond
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