Man charged with equipment theft

A Bronson man has been charged with  grand theft and dealing in stolen property, and the truck, flatbed trailer and loader used to take a logging skidder, valued at $7,500, were seized, according to a Levy Sheriff's Office press release.
Michael Dwayne Douglas, 51, is charged with taking the Franklin logging skidder  that was parked at the Wolf Springs Hill area in Bronson.
When deputies questioned Douglas, he claimed to have purchased the skidder from another man on Dec. 11,  but the man denied seeing Douglas for several years.
During a later interview Douglas told deputies he used his Ford F-350 truck, flatbed trailer and his loader to move the skidder to his residence where he cut it up for scrap metal, according to the press release.  Douglas contacted Glenn Perry to assist him in cutting the skidder and promised him a third of the profit if he took the steel to Ocala scrap yard. 
Perry told deputies he was unaware the skidder was stolen and he took the metal  to Williston Recycling where employees  told him deputies were looking for a lime green skidder. Perry then called Douglas to come pick up the skidder pieces.