Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Matthew Thomas Otto, 29, was arrested yesterday after allegedly stealing three Dyson vacuum cleaners from Target and selling one of them on Facebook Marketplace.

On January 29, a Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) at Target (3970 SW Archer Road) contacted a Gainesville Police Department officer about a suspect who had been in the store three times that week, stealing high-end Dyson vacuum cleaners. The LPO also reportedly found one of the vacuum cleaners listed on Facebook Marketplace under a female’s account.

The LPO showed the officer that the box in the Facebook Marketplace listing showed damage to the top that is consistent with the forceful removal of a spider-wire anti-theft device.

The officer learned that the same Facebook account had recently sold another high-end Dyson vacuum that matched a vacuum cleaner recently stolen from Target. The female’s account reportedly mentions a boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s picture was reportedly a “dead ringer” for the suspect seen in the Target surveillance video.

On January 31, an officer was already in the Target parking lot when the LPO reported that the same suspect was back in the store and tampering with two more Dyson vacuum cleaners valued at $950 each. The officer and LPO stayed outside while another LPO monitored the suspect, reportedly watching him pass all points of sale without paying for the two vacuum cleaners in his cart, which were missing the spider-wire anti-theft devices.

Otto was arrested outside the store. Post Miranda, Otto reportedly admitted to stealing a vacuum cleaner on January 29 and selling it on Facebook Marketplace. He said he does not have a phone and used his girlfriend’s phone and Facebook account to list the vacuum cleaner for sale, but he insisted that his girlfriend was not involved in any way. He also reportedly said that he has a job and steals to support his drug habit; he added, “When you need money, you need money.”

When asked whether the vacuum cleaner that was sold could be returned to Target, he reportedly said he had already sold it.

Otto, whose listed address is in Lake City, has been charged with two counts of grand theft and one count each of engaging in a scheme to defraud and dealing in stolen property. He has two local traffic misdemeanor convictions and no court records in Columbia County. Judge George Wright set bail at $12,500.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.