A 36-year-old Clearwater man is facing multiple felony charges in connection with the theft of a guitar and several electric bicycles in Pinellas County.
Gavin James Clous was arrested on September 10, 2026, on charges including burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft and petit theft with two or more prior convictions.
One of the cases dates back to March, when a woman invited Clous to her Palm Harbor home after meeting him on Tinder, according to an arrest affidavit.
The woman noticed the following day that her Yamaha Dreadnought guitar, valued at approximately $200, was missing. Investigators said surveillance video from inside the home showed Clous putting on his coat, picking up the guitar from a couch and leaving the residence at approximately 12:47 a.m. on March 19.
In a separate case, Clous is accused of stealing an electric bicycle valued at $1,100 from outside Gulf to Bay Bait and Tackle, located at 6920 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach, during the early morning hours of August 25.
Surveillance video reportedly showed Clous passing the business on another bicycle about an hour before the theft and looking toward the electric bicycle. Investigators said he later returned on foot and took it.
According to the affidavit, two law enforcement officers who had recently encountered Clous identified him from the surveillance video. Four days after the theft, a Kenneth City police officer stopped Clous for a bicycle violation. Photographs taken during the stop reportedly showed him wearing the same distinctive shorts and hat seen in the theft footage.
Clous is also accused of stealing an electric bicycle valued at $827 from the porch of a residence in the 100 block of 174th Avenue East in Redington Shores at approximately 1:32 a.m. on September 8.
Earlier that day, at approximately 12:28 a.m., surveillance cameras allegedly captured Clous entering the Hotel Siesta property at 17800 Gulf Boulevard in Redington Shores. The building was undergoing construction or remodeling and was not open to the public.
Investigators said Clous took an unsecured electric bicycle from a porch area and left by passing through fenced yards bordering the property.
Clous was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. Court records list four separate criminal cases involving five felony charges. He was initially held without bond on the burglary charge, with bonds of $5,000 listed on each of the other charges.
