Woman in pink dress steals $120,000 tractor, Florida cops say. And then it got weird

A woman wearing a pink dress is accused of carrying out a series of odd thefts in a rural Florida community, one of which involved riding off on someone’s $120,000 John Deere tractor, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Why the 46-year-old wanted the tractor is unclear, but detectives note it was not the strangest thing taken during the spree.

Bed sheets, blue jeans, toiletries, camouflage wading boots, “several packages of frozen venison and a bottle of wine” were also stolen from a home, according to an affidavit. The woman is also accused of sleeping in one victim’s bed.

“At last count, (the suspect) was facing 3 misdemeanors and a whopping 35 felonies (with more possible),” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators say the crimes occurred May 6 in the Kathleen area, about 30 miles northeast of Tampa.

A neighbor was the first to report something suspicious after seeing “a female in a pink dress was driving a tractor in the area,” officials say.

“It’s not often you see a woman stealing a John Deere tractor while wearing a pink dress,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.

“A farm property manager managed to detain (the suspect) when the tractor, a nice, big John Deere model 6120R stalled,” the sheriff’s office said. “Then deputies arrived and arrested her.”

They found the woman had a knife with a 5-inch blade, along with “other people’s credit/debit cards, Social Security cards, a driver’s license, and a dental plan card,” officials said.

The suspect became “irate” when deputies attempted to put her in a patrol car, the sheriff’s office said.

“She kicked and cursed at deputies, and even made a death threat or two to them,” officials said.

Charges in the case include: grand theft, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, unlawful possession, possession of a concealed weapon and battery on a law enforcement officer, officials said.

This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Woman in pink dress steals $120,000 tractor, Florida cops say. And then it got weird."