Volusia County cousins charged for conspiring to rob elderly Iowa man on recorded jail line

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Two cousins are facing charges after numerous recorded phone calls at Volusia County Jail show they, along with another man, planned to break into an elderly man’s home in Iowa and rob him, according to the sheriff’s office.

Jeremy Leister, 22, and Jacob T. Locke, 25, each face a felony charge of conspiring to commit home invasion robbery in a case that ultimately required the cooperation of six other law enforcement agencies.

The phone calls between Leister and Locke took place soon after Locke was booked in the jail on July 11. He was arrested by Daytona Beach police that same day on seven different charges after he fled the scene of an attempted traffic stop while driving a stolen vehicle, striking an officer’s leg in the process, the sheriff’s office said.

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Since Locke has been in custody, he and Leister have been in constant contact with one another through the jail’s in-house telephone system which monitors and all calls placed and received by inmates, which users are notified about beforehand.

Investigators found 11 different calls between July 14 and July 24 where the cousins discussed robbing a home of an elderly man in Iowa who Locke met while involved in a work release program while an inmate at the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Six agencies across Florida and Iowa were involved in the case.

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Leister and another person were detained during a search on July 31, which turned up the phone Leister used to talk to Locke along with more than 10 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale with meth residue on it.

Lesiter was booked the following day at Volusia County Jail on the conspiracy charge, as well as for unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell. He is being held without bond.

Locke’s bond has been set at $1 million.

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