LAKELAND — A Lake Wales man was charged Wednesday with stealing 11 truckloads of tangerines from groves around Polk County then selling the fruit at Parksdale Farms in Plant City.
Herman Southall, 81, was charged with 11 counts of transporting citrus without a certificate, grand theft between $300 and $5,000, grand theft of more than 2,000 pieces of citrus, and trespassing. He was in the Polk County Jail this morning.
Southall and Christopher Scarlett were found by deputies Wednesday picking fruit in a Dundee grove after a Sheriff’s Office helicopter pilot saw them.
A Polk County Sheriff’s Office report said the two had picked more than four rows of tangerines, about 2,000 pieces of Sunburst tangerines. The report said they were preparing to load the fruit into Southall's truck.
Detectives reported that Southall sold a separate load of tangerines valued at $338 to Parksdale Farms on Tuesday.