A 37-year-old Bradenton man is facing a grand theft charge after the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says roughly $250,000 worth of molds, fixtures, and scrap metal was taken from Rapid Composites. Jay Pearson was arrested and charged with one count of grand theft. Deputies say a surveillance camera recorded the theft in the early morning hours of Aug. 13.
According to investigators, Pearson told deputies he was paid about $100 and a share of the scrap money to drive a co-suspect in a vehicle registered to a person not connected to or charged in the investigation. Pearson claimed he believed the metal near the dumpster and on the pallet was scrap and said he did not know the items were drone molds or how valuable they were. He confessed to being at the location, helping remove the items, and identified himself in the surveillance images.
The case highlights a growing concern across Manatee and Sarasota counties, where scrap metal theft has become a recurring problem for local businesses. It also leaves open questions: what happens next for the unnamed co-suspect, and why were drone molds sitting outside in the first place? We’ll keep following this one as it moves through the courts.
What do you think about this one? Does the hundred-dollar payout story hold up for you? Let us know in the comments.
