A Lakeland man with a long history of criminal activity has been taken into custody once more, implicated in a series of thefts, including stealing a vehicle and construction tools, authorities in Polk County reported. Michael David Reading, 50, who has been booked into Polk County Jail on 21 occasions, faces fresh allegations following a focused investigation by the sheriff’s office.
The chain of events leading to Reading's latest arrest began on April 1, when a Winter Haven construction crew discovered a theft at Simmers Young Park. They reported missing a generator and multiple Milwaukee brand power tools from their secured trailer. In a separate incident, on April 6, a 1989 Ford Bronco vanished from a Shell gas station in Auburndale, with surveillance footage later capturing two men towing it away, as stated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Polk County Sheriff's detectives traced the vehicle used to tow the Bronco to a 2000 Ford Ranger, previously belonging to a Winter Haven man who sold it to an individual he identified as Mike. Mike was revealed to be Reading after law enforcement investigated further. Upon visiting Reading's property, both the stolen Bronco and the Ford Ranger were discovered, with alterations made to the latter in an attempt to disguise it.
Detectives also found an orange Predator 5000 generator, which matched the description of the stolen item, on Reading's porch. While Reading denied the theft, claiming to have been hospitalized during the time the crimes occurred, detectives garnered evidence refuting his statement. Sheriff Grady Judd expressed his exasperation with the suspect's recidivism, "Michael Reading is one of those criminals who simply does not hesitate to steal, cheat, and lie. He has lived a life of crime and has shown no remorse, nor any indication that he will change his criminal ways. It is apparent that, the only way to keep him from committing crime is to keep him locked up," according to the press release by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Reading has now been charged with two counts of burglary, grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, and operating an unpermitted landfill. His criminal history denotes prior convictions for burglary, theft, and dealing in stolen property.
