(Port Charlotte) Three Port Charlotte residents were arrested early this morning after the owner of an appliance business caught them taking appliances from beside his business Sunday night.
Detectives arrested Keith Joseph Carmello, 44, Tiffany Marie Carmello, 26, and Joseph John Ventre, 28, all of 3554 Pinetree Street in Port Charlotte on Grand Theft charges. Keith Carmello and Ventre were also charged with Violation of Probation.
At about 9:00 pm Sunday night, the owner of A+ Action Appliance at 2626 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte called the Sheriff’s Office because he had found a strange vehicle in the parking lot of his closed business. When he stopped to check, he found Keith Carmello, Tiffany Carmello and Ventre loading appliances into a truck and trailer. As soon as he confronted them, the trio apologized and began to unload the appliances back into the parking lot.
When detectives reviewed the store’s video, they found that the 9:00 pm incident was the second such trip to the appliance store. At about 8:15 pm, the video showed Tiffany Carmello and Ventre loading two refrigerators, two microwaves and a dryer into a different trailer pulled by the same truck.
The business owner told detectives he wanted to pursue criminal charges for the thefts. Joseph Carmello provided a signed waiver of search for the other trailer that was at his residence and he assisted the business owner in retrieving the appliances from that trailer.
Tiffany Carmello was released on a $5,000 bond. Joseph Carmello and Ventre were being held at the Charlotte County Jail on a $5,000 bond each for the Grand Theft charges and no bond on the Violation of Probation charges.