Tuscan Reserve Apartments Handyman Accused of Using His Access to Units to Steal Thousands in Jewelry

Joshua Raymond Powell, a 44-year-old resident of Satsuma employed as a handyman at Tuscan Reserve, the apartment complex in Palm Coast’s Town Center, was arrested last week on nine felony charges of burglary, fraud and dealing in stolen property following a Flagler County Sheriff’s investigation that determined that Powell allegedly entered homes where he was needed for repairs, only to steal the residents’ jewelry and other valuables.

The Flagler County Sheriff is asking local residents to be on the alert for missing valuables, in case hey have had interactions with Powell, who has since been fired from his Tuscan Reserve job.




In the triggering case, a resident of Tuscan Reserve had requested from Powell a change of the air conditioning filter in her apartment in mid-December. The resident crossed paths with Powell after that date. He told her he’d not been to the apartment yet. That seemed suspicious to the resident, who’d found the door to the air conditioning unit open.

When the resident opened her jewelry box on Dec. 21, she discovered that a $1,500 diamond ring, a $1,000 gold diamond bracelet, and three other items, the lot totaling $3,900 in value, were missing. The resident discovered that Powell had sold two of the items for $500 at Cash It In, the pawn shop on East Moody Boulevard in Bunnell, on Dec. 13.

The Sheriff’s Office began its investigation at that point, discovering that Powell had been to 10 pawn shops and sold 33 items, most of them women’s jewelry.

Meanwhile, Gary Meminger, Powell’s father-in-law, who carpooled with Powell and worked at the same location, apologized to the resident, wrote her an $800 check, and told her that Powell had admitted to thefts. At the end of December the resident recovered further pawned items at All Cash Pawn in Satsuma, where the sheriff’s investigation had found the items. Additional items were found at Leah’s Pawn Shop in Palm Coast and at Cash It In. The victim had to buy the items back from the pawn shop.

The investigation found that Powell “entered into the victim’s apartment and then entered into the victim’s bedroom before opening a jewelry box and taking the jewelry. This is believed to happen numerous times,” according to his arrest report.

Detectives are searching for additional victims due to Powell having had access to multiple apartments during his time of employment and the significant number of times he pawned and sold jewelry, a sheriff’s release states. Residents at Tuscan Reserve Apartments in Palm Coast are encouraged to check for missing jewelry items and contact the Sheriff’s Office’s  non-emergency line at 386-313-4911 (reference FCSO case no. 2025-109737) if they believe items have been stolen.

“This man was trusted to access people’s apartments and betrayed that trust and stole from them,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying. “I encourage all Tuscan Reserve Apartments residents to double check and make sure that nothing is missing and if it is try to recover your property.”

Four of the charges Powell faces are second-degree felonies, which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years each if convicted. The rest are third-degree felonies with five-year penalties each. His bond was set at $17,000, which his wife posted. His arraignment before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols is on Feb. 18.