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Florida man who was sent to prison 74 times arrested again, sheriff's office says

A man who served 74 times in the Orient Road Jail is returning after defrauding Lowe's stores in Hillsborough County and Clearwater, officials said. Mark Brents, 57, is no stranger to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, having served 11 previous prison sentences, a whopping 74 of them, since 1985. Officials said Brents was arrested this time for defrauding the store of more than $4,500 worth of merchandise in 10 separate cases. Earlier this month, the Sheriff's Office's Organized Shoplifting Unit began investigating when it learned Brents was putting bar codes from cheaper items on more expensive products. He then paid the lower price after scanning the cheaper item's bar code. Hillsborough investigators also discovered several ads Brents had posted online promoting the stolen products. On Wednesday, officers worked with Clearwater Police to track down Brents, who was observed “driving erratically” in his Nissan with a false license plate. He drove back to his home where he was taken into custody. Brents faces multiple charges, including organized fraud under $20,000, shoplifting $3,000 or more and petty theft. “Our Organized Shoplifting Unit, working with Clearwater Police, successfully apprehended a career criminal before he could damage even more businesses in our community,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “This partnership was critical in stopping a thief who has been a repeat offender for decades and speaks volumes about the power of cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Despite this man's lengthy criminal history, he still has not learned his lesson. We will not tolerate habitual offenders continuing to plague our community.” According to the Sheriff's Office, Brents was on probation for evading court. “Our investigators were happy to work with their colleagues at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to get this man off the streets,” said Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy. “He has a history of breaking laws in multiple jurisdictions.” Police have filed additional charges in connection with the stolen items. The investigation is ongoing.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. —

A man who was incarcerated 74 times at Orient Road Jail is returning after defrauding Lowe's stores in Hillsborough County and Clearwater, officials said.

Mark Brents, 57, is no stranger to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Since 1985, he has been in and out of jail 11 times, including 74 times.

Officials said Brents was arrested this time for defrauding the store of more than $4,500 worth of merchandise in 10 separate cases.

Earlier this month, the sheriff's organized shoplifting unit began investigating when they discovered he would tape bar codes from cheaper items onto more expensive products. After scanning the cheaper item's bar code, he would pay the lower price.

Hillsborough investigators also discovered several ads placed online by Brents promoting the stolen products.

On Wednesday, officers worked with Clearwater police to track down Brents, who was “driving erratically” in his Nissan with an unregistered license plate. He drove back to his home, where he was taken into custody.

Brents faces several charges, including organized fraud of less than $20,000, shoplifting of $3,000 or more, and petty theft.

“Our Organized Shoplifting Unit worked closely with the Clearwater Police Department to arrest a career criminal before he could cause more damage to businesses in our community,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “This partnership was critical in stopping a thief who has been a repeat offender for decades and speaks volumes about the power of cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Despite his lengthy criminal history, this man has still not learned his lesson. We will not tolerate habitual offenders continuing to plague our community.”

According to the sheriff's office, Brents was on probation for escape.

“Our investigators were happy to work with their colleagues at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to get this man off the streets,” said Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy. “He has a history of breaking laws in multiple jurisdictions.”

Police have filed further charges in connection with the stolen items.

The investigation is not yet complete.

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