Port Charlotte man accused of stealing $3K worth of fishing equipment

A Port Charlotte man is accused of stealing approximately $3,000 worth of fishing equipment, according to an arrest report from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. The report says that on August 18 officers with the Punta Gorda Police Department responded to a parking lot on Marion Avenue in reference to a reported theft of fishing equipment. Officers say they made contact with four victims, who told them that nine fishing rods with attached reels were stolen from the bed of a pickup truck while they were eating at a nearby restaurant. Surveillance footage obtained from nearby businesses captures two suspects exiting a truck to take the fishing equipment from the victim's pickup truck. On August 20, a victim reached out to officers, saying that he saw some of the stolen fishing gear up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Officers tracked down the address of the house that the images came from. A search warrant for the home, located in Port Charlotte, was obtained by deputies from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. There, they say they saw a person quickly loading fishing gear into a vehicle. Deputies performed a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, Angel Martinez, 18, reportedly admitted to deputies that the fishing gear in the vehicle was not his. He also reportedly admitted to being one of the suspects shown in the surveillance footage. Martinez was arrested and faces a charge of grand theft of property worth more than $750 but less than $5,000. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV