LAKE WALES, Fla. — A Sebring man is behind bars after deputies say he acted as a member of law enforcement to steal a generator.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, on Oct. 17, 2021, authorities received a report of a stolen power inverter generator which was valued at $1,129.
Detectives would later learn that on that day 52-year-old William Tillman, III entered the garden area of the Lowe's store on US-27, pulled out a "police-style" badge from under his shirt and walked toward an employee saying he was picking up a donation for the sheriff's office. Authorities say Tillman would then take the generator and leave without paying.
Investigators say they later discovered the generator at a pawn shop in Orlando where Tillman had sold it just an hour after the theft. The sheriff's office says it was also discovered that Tillman stole items from two different Walmart stores.
Tillman now faces one count of impersonating a law enforcement officer, the sheriff's office says.
