DEBARY -- Investigators certainly wish there were more criminals like Matthew Hall, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said of the accused man.
Davidson said that when the 26-year-old went into a vacant home in DeBary to steal an air conditioning unit, he left behind a major clue: His driver's license.
"That was just icing on the cake, though, as investigators from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office District 2 office (DeLand), District 6 office (DeBary) and the DeLand Police Department gathered other
evidence pointing to Hall from a string of thefts across western parts of the county," Davidson said. "Now Hall faces a host of charges for thefts in both agencies' jurisdictions with many more still to come. He was arrested Wednesday at his home in DeLand and transported to the Volusia County
Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.
Air conditioners themselves are not really the targets thieves are after, but rather the metal parts inside that can be sold to scrap metal salvage businesses. Many cases connected to Hall involved air
conditioners stolen from foreclosed, vacant homes or businesses, and homes under construction.
DeLand police and Sheriff's deputies took several reports of such thefts throughout April and May, along with reports of stolen aluminum and car parts. As the cases built up, Hall became a possible suspect due to his frequent visits to area salvage businesses with another handful of air conditioner parts every time.
Investigators learned his identity from the personal information he's required to give during each transaction. Additionally, residents in some neighborhoods where the thefts took place told investigators that a maroon van had driven slowly through the area. The vehicle description investigators obtained matched that of Hall's vehicle.
Then on Tuesday an air conditioner theft was discovered at a vacant home on Valencia Circle in DeBary. As investigators walked through the property they found Hall's driver's license on the floor inside the home.
With plenty of evidence in hand, they obtained a search warrant for Hall's home at 505 Fairfield Ave., DeLand and served the warrant on Wednesday. Hall wasn't home when investigators initially knocked on the door and spoke with his wife, Mary David Hall.
But a few moments later Hall was spotted walking down the street toward home with a friend, Adam
Farrar. When the pair saw the commotion at home, Farrar ducked behind a nearby tree and dropped off a bag he was carrying. Hall and Farrar then told investigators that they had just been visiting with a friend, but when investigators checked up with the friend, the story turned out to be false. Burglary tools such as gloves, cutting tools and screw drivers were found in the bag Farrar had tried to hide.
Hall, his wife, and Farrar were all taken into custody. While being questioned, Hall admitted to several theftts, Davidson said.
The Sheriff's Office charged Hall with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft for the incident on Valencia Circle. The DeLand Police Department charged him with three counts of grand theft and three counts of dealing in stolen property for incidents in the 800 block of North Spring Garden
Avenue, the 500 block of Walking Fern Loop, and the 100 block of Crawl Key Court. Hall is a suspect in at least five more cases, and additional charges are pending. Investigators estimate he made nearly $2,000 over the month of April to his arrest in May.
Farrar, 25, was charged with loitering and prowling, and possession of burglary tools. Mary David Hall, 26, was charged with possession of a schedule IV substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. They were booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail along with Matthew Hall.