Lehigh fire commission candidate faces mower theft rap

A Lehigh Acres fire commission candidate was arrested Wednesday evening on a felony grand theft charge that a top fire official says involves the theft of lawn mowers donated to Habitat to Humanity by the Lehigh Acres Fire Control District.

Robert John Anderson, 50, of Lehigh Acres, was released on $5,000 bond a few hours after the arrest and faces a Sept. 6 arraignment.

Ken Bennett, assistant chief for administration at the Lehigh Department, confirmed that Anderson has been charged with stealing mowers that the district donated to Habitat's ReStore in North Fort Myers.

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Anderson is a candidate for the Lehigh Fire Commission in District 3.  He is running as John Anderson. In 2006 he was defeated for a seat on the fire commission when he ran as Robert Anderson.

The Lehigh department donated the surplus commercial-style lawn mowers to the ReStore, but the equipment allegedly ended up in Anderson's possession.

An affadavit filed June 24 with the Lee County Court in the case outlines that Anderson did unlawfully take the mowers on May 12. Additionally, the affidavit said that Anderson had spoken at a May 31 fire district commissioners meeting and said he was in possession of the mowers.

An audio file of the meeting reviewed by a Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy found verbal comments by Anderson stating: "Thank you for the lawn mowers. I own them. I own all your parts too."

Another audio file from an April 26 fire district commissioners meeting had Anderson saying he wanted to buy items being surplussed, including the lawn mowers, for $1.

Then-chief John Wayne said in an email earlier this year to members of the Lehigh fire district board of commissioners that Anderson used false pretenses to take possession of the machines. Wayne has since retired as Lehigh's fire chief. The district board has not named a new chief nor has it designated an acting chief of the department.

Anderson could not be reached for comment.

At the time the mowers were reported missing from ReStore, Anderson said he had the mowers in storage and was waiting for the machines to be repaired so they could be given to families in need in Lehigh.

Asked at the time by The News-Press about what happened to the machines, Anderson said he was storing them in a location he would not name for repair by a person he would not name for delivery to families he would not name. Anderson claimed that lawn mowers are not typical of the goods sold at the Habitat ReStore.

The June 24 affadavit also included an interview with Harold Doidge, whom Anderson said helped him remove the mowers from the store.

Doidge told a detective that he helped pick up five of the six mowers and that they were stored at his home. He told the detective that Anderson never mentioned that the mowers were to be refurbished and given to needy Lehigh residents.

Doidge also sent a $100 check to the resale store, later confirmed by the store, that he assumed was for the sale of the mowers to him.

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The sheriff's office later impounded the mowers from Doidge's home. The resale store estimated that it had lost up to $1,500 in possible sales due to the mowers being taken.

The sixth mower was sold by the store.

Former chief Wayne said at the time that he was "sick to my stomach" over the handling of the donation.

The equipment was declared surplus by the fire commissioners when the district decided to go with a lawn service rather than have employees cut the grass.

The fire department holds a receipt for five John Deere lawn mowers and one Craftsman mower. The six machines were turned over by a Habitat employee to Anderson. The employee, store manager David Rivera, said Anderson told him there had been an error.

An email from Rivera to fire officials said he received a message from Anderson about mowers "stating that we need to decline the mowers because they should have been rerouted to needy families."

Fire officials discuss meeting fallout

The memo from Rivera continued, "That very afternoon I had a conversation with Mr. Anderson when he suggested there had been a mistake with the donation and he will make arrangements to have them picked up."

Rivera said that "considering all the information given" he released the mowers "without hesitation."

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter). The News-Press reporter William Smith contributed to this report.