An assistant football coach at Lakeland (Fla.) High School has been arrested after law enforcement officials obtained video evidence that he stole dozens of helmets from his own team.
As reported by WTVT in Tampa, Polk County Sheriff's deputies say Azadrean Yarde, 23, stole 36 helmets and made repeated trips to a Play It Again Sports outlets in Lakeland and Brandon to resell them.
The high school paid nearly $380 for each helmet, so the collective theft exceeded $13,000 in value. Yarde sold each helmet for $100 or less, garnering less than $1,000.
"He told them who he was and gave them a proper ID," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "He said he was an assistant football coach, and they were phasing out the helmets in favor of new helmets. It was a plausible story, but it was a lie."
The sheriff added that Play It Again Sports was able to return most of the helmets to the school, though seven had already been sold to the public.
The school district discovered helmets were missing last month, and reached out to the sheriff's office to investigate. According to the suspect's arrest affidavit, he was caught stealing the helmets on surveillance video at the school.
A spokesperson for the Polk County School District told WTVT that Yarde was hired as a custodian in 2022 and has been an assistant coach with the football team this school year. The school is in the process of terminating his employment and will be seeking restitution.
Yarde has no criminal history and the sheriff says he confessed to this crime and admitted he was wrong. He faces six felony charges, including grand theft, false verification of ownership, and dealing stolen property.
"A bad decision can have severe consequences on your life," said Judd. "He's no longer an assistant football coach. He's no longer a janitor. He has felony charges against him. He's got to work though all [that] because he wanted some extra money."
