[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
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[Original Publish Date: 10/09/19]
LEESBURG, Florida – A Leesburg High School teacher was arrested on the job yesterday for a misdemeanor petit theft charge related to a cell phone he allegedly confiscated as part of disciplining his son. The police complaint was lodged by Vickie Lacroix, ex-wife of Justin M. Coleman, 35, who was taken to jail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Lacroix complained to police back on Sept. 20 that Coleman “has a phone that she bought for their son, and he will not give it back.” Lacroix claimed her ex-husband “took the phone from their son for discipline reasons back in March”, and that “she has made several unsuccessful attempts to get the phone back and is tired of waiting”, the affidavit states. Lacroix further complained she was making the payments on the phone and suspected Coleman of having “changed the Apple ID so that he could use it, as it no longer shows up under her devices.”
Lacroix also told police her ex-husband “took another phone that was purchased by [Lacroix] for their daughter in November of last year… and failed to give it back”, however the affidavit notes that the daughter’s phone was eventually returned.
Police state that various and repeated efforts to contact Coleman by phone and at his residence were futile, leading to his arrest on a warrant at Leesburg High School; he was transported to the Lake County Jail to be held on a $1,000 bond.
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James Hope is a Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer who has been practicing criminal law in Tavares, Florida, since 1987. He has also been the Publisher and Executive Editor of Lake Legal News since 2009. He may be contacted at LakeLegalNews@gmail.com, or through his website at www.AttorneyJamesHope.com. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
