Man on horseback burglarizes New Port Richey home

A man who goes by the name The Rooster rode a horse to break into a New Port Richey home, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Lonnie Maddox, 52, and Angel, a brown horse, were seen on security camera footage wandering around the property Thursday morning. Maddox opened a screened porch and tried to get in the padlocked front door, then gave up and entered through a back window, according to deputies. The window broke and caused about $100 worth of damage.

Angel, meanwhile, wandered away.

Around the same time, property owner Steve Ferguson spotted Maddox on his security camera and called the sheriff's office. He said the property had been burglarized before and he had recently installed the fence to keep people away.

Ferguson was surprised by what he saw. "Who takes a getaway horse to a robbery?" he said.

When the deputies arrived, Maddox approached and asked if they had seen a horse. During the interrogation he was more concerned about Angel's whereabouts than anything else, deputies wrote in a report.

The horse was found about two miles away on Key Lime Drive and reunited her with her owner, who was not Maddox.

It was not clear if Maddox had permission to ride the horse, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. The horse's owner could not be reached immediately by the Tampa Bay Times.

Maddox initially told deputies the horse got lost and broke the fence, and he had gone to get her, according to the arrest report. When deputies told Maddox there was security footage, he said he wanted to see the inside of the house because he planned to rent it.

Maddox was arrested on charges of burglary of a dwelling.

Court records show he has a long criminal record and has been found guilty of car theft, drug possession and domestic battery, among other charges.

Contact Romy Ellenbogen at rellenbogen@tampabay.com. Follow @Romyellenbogen.