Orlando man accused of stealing over $100K in Best Buy merchandise during statewide spree

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – An Orlando man booked Thursday in Brevard County is accused of stealing some $118,413.45 in merchandise from Best Buy stores across the state in a crime spree lasting the better part of a year, according to investigators.

Earl Glover, 30, made a habit of almost exclusively targeting merchandise on display — such as cellphones and laptops — ripping the devices from their security cables, triggering an alarm and running out of the stores, some of which he pilfered from more than once, according a sworn complaint filed last year by the Melbourne Police Department.

Glover’s alleged actions took place between June 11, 2022, and March 22, 2023, the report states.

The timeline given in the complaint, as well as what Glover is accused of doing, is as follows:

• June 11, 2022 — Stealing four iPhones worth $3,239.96 at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach.
• June 26, 2022 — Attempting to steal $8,367.27 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Lakeland. A citizen reportedly tried stopping Glover as he ran out of the store, causing him to fall and drop the merchandise as well as his personal cellphone. The report adds Glover then tried ripping out an additional display unit before retrieving his cellphone, sprinting across the parking lot and jumping into an SUV being driven by another person.
• June 29, 2022 — Stealing three MacBook display models worth $4,794.98 at a Best Buy in Melbourne.
• July 11, 2022 — Stealing three more MacBook display models, also worth $4,794.98, at a Best Buy in Ocala.
• July 29, 2022 — Stealing $5,219.95 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Plantation.
• July 29, 2022 — Stealing $2,471.98 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Stuart.
• Aug. 8, 2022 — Stealing three MacBooks worth $4,358.99 at a Best Buy in the Gainesville area.
• Aug. 12, 2022 — Stealing $4,806.97 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
• Aug. 22, 2022 — Stealing $5,057.97 worth of display merchandise, including three Sony digital cameras, at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
• Aug. 26, 2022 — Stealing two gaming laptops and an Apple AirPods Max worth $3,330.97 at a Best Buy in Altamonte Springs.
• Sept. 9, 2022 — Stealing four iPads, an Apple Pen and an Apple AirPods Max worth $2,652.93 at a Best Buy in Orlando.
• Sept. 16, 2022 — Stealing $4,182.97 worth of display merchandise, including three gaming laptops, at a Best Buy in the Orlando’s Millenia area.
• Oct. 5, 2022 — Stealing nine iPhone display models worth $9,593.92, joined in the act by an unknown female, at a Best Buy in Plantation. A Best Buy Asset Protection employee reportedly attempted to stop Glover, who evaded the employee only to run toward an off duty Plantation police motor officer. Glover led Plantation police on a foot chase, ultimately evading arrest, yet would also drop and leave behind his personal cellphone, the report states. This was allegedly Glover’s second time targeting the store.
• Oct 20, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,166.08, joined in the act by an unknown female, at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
• Oct. 28, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $3,820.97 at a Best Buy in Orlando’s Millenia area, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
• Nov. 4, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,283.07 a Best Buy in Clearwater.
• Nov. 14, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,015.95 at a Best Buy in Ocala, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
• Nov. 28, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $6,749.97 at a Best Buy in the Orlando area.
• Nov. 30, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,949.97 at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach, Glover’s third time targeting the store.
• Dec. 14, 2022 — Stealing merchandise worth $6,479.96 — joined in the act by an unknown female, who selected three new-in-box laptops — at a Best Buy in Melbourne, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
• Dec. 19, 2022 — Investigators make contact with the Best Buy Asset Protection employee from the Oct. 5 incident, learning more about the cellphone that Glover left behind.
• Jan. 22, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $6,134.96 at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
• Jan. 24, 2023 — A search warrant is approved for the cellphone that Glover dropped in Oct. 2022, used in part to verify his identity as well as to access photographs of the stolen merchandise stored on the device.
• Jan. 30, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $9,719.96 at a Best Buy in the Kissimmee area.
• Feb. 22, 2023 — A warrant is approved for the cellphone’s historical location data, showing Glover in the area of ten of the thirteen thefts that occurred between June 11, 2022, and Oct. 5, 2022.
• March 17, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,499.98 at a Best Buy in Orlando’s Millenia area, Glover’s third time targeting the store.
• March 22, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $5,847.30 at a Best Buy in Wellington.
• March 24, 2023 — Investigators make contact with the Florida Department of Corrections, providing surveillance images of the thefts for further confirmation Glover was behind them.

Glover was arrested via warrant and faces a charge of grand theft over $100,000, held at the Brevard County Jail on $200,000 bond, records show.

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