(Citrus County, FL) On Friday, August 15, 2025, 79-year-old George Seely Crandall III was found guilty by a jury of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia after just 20 minutes of deliberation. Considering the defendant’s felony criminal history, Judge Fritton sentenced Crandall to five years in prison.
Back in November of 2024, the Emergency Communications Center of the Citrus
County Sheriff’s Office received various calls for service placed by Crandall. Deputies responded to the defendant’s home located in the Oakridge Mobile Home Par due to suspicious circumstances.
Upon arrival at the residence, Crandall told deputies there were seven people In his home, along with two dogs and a cat that were not supposed to be inside the home. He stated that the people were taking his possessions against his will. While conducting a walk-through of the two-bedroom mobile home, officials did not locate any other person or animals inside.
Deputies informed Crandall that no one else was found in the home and advised the defendant to
secure all doors via locks. A little over an hour after their initial response, deputies were called back out to the home, resulting in the same
outcome.
Another hour later, Crandall contacted law enforcement again and requested a
supervisor to respond for a third visit to the home. Lieutenant Samuel Carey, now Captain, arrived at the house and spoke with Crandall, who reiterated the same information about people being inside his residence.
While inside the home, Crandall told the Lt. that he grabbed one of the men by his shirt. When he showed Lt. Carey the shirt, it was merely a window curtain hanging up. He further told the Lt. that if he waited, he could arrest the people who were walking through the walls.
At this time, Lt. Carey began evaluating Crandall’s mental health for any signs of dementia. However, Crandall’s impairment was not consistent with someone experiencing dementia. His rapid speech and irrational demeanor were
consistent with someone under the influence of illegal narcotics.
While continuing the walk-through of the home, Lt. Carey noticed a small red bag containing a white rock-like substance on the floor of the bedroom. At that time, Crandall attempted to pick up and conceal the bag but was given
commands to hand over the item.
Inside the room, two cut plastic straws with residue were also collected. An agency-issued presumptive field test was conducted and yielded positive results for the presence of methamphetamines.
This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Tara
Hartman and Elizabeth Colombrito.
