Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Holland Christopher Coburn, 46, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing a phone from a laundromat and then trying to get the victim to pay him to get it back.
The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that he was washing clothes at Wash King Laundromat (210 NE 16th Avenue) at about 1:30 a.m. on November 16 when he fell asleep; when he woke up, his iPhone 15 was missing. He said he tried to track the phone, but it had been turned off. At about 11:30 a.m., the victim called the police to say that his phone had pinged at the Waldo Road Walmart (1800 NE 12 Avenue), and it was now at a nearby residence. He said his brother had received a call from his cell phone, and the caller said, “I’ll give you your phone back for a small fee.”…