Deputies: Already-jailed man admits to Lakewood Ranch break-in

A man in jail on a previous arrest was charged in connection with a Dec. 1 armed burglary of an occupied Summerfield home in Lakewood Ranch, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Mark Kramer, 34, of Sarasota, was in the Sarasota County Jail on a charge of home invasion with a firearm following his Dec. 30 arrest. Sarasota County investigators communicated with Manatee investigators that day when they began connecting facts of their case in the Summerfield burglary.  The Sarasota investigation found an assault-style rifle that appeared similar to one seen in surveillance video in Summerfield, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Sarasota County deputies.

MCSO detectives met with Kramer in the Sarasota County jail, and a Manatee County Sheriff's Office release said, "he admitted to forcing his way into the screened lanai of a residence in the 6500 block of Summer Blossom Lane" around 3:30 a.m. Dec. 1.

Video footage from that break-in shows a man, wearing a beanie-style hat, ear protection headphones, face covering, sweatpants, gloves and Crocs, cutting the screen door and entering an enclosed lanai. He was armed with a rifle and walked slowly around the pool deck, looking mostly down at the ground, according to the release.

"During his interview (with detectives), Kramer told detectives that he always fantasized about being a police officer or being in the military, and says that he ingested narcotics that night giving him the courage to act out on his fantasy," a MCSO release said. "Kramer says he drove through a Lakewood Ranch neighborhood and decided to sneak around as if he was on a mission."

Kramer said he had no intentions to commit theft or any other crimes and apologized for scaring the community, according to the release. He remains in jail without bond.