ASHEVILLE – Dave Graham was at home in Ohio when he got a message from someone manning his donation center with supplies for victims of Tropical Storm Helene at the BP gas station in Swannanoa on Oct. 25.

“That … head Mark just stole all your stuff and cut your tent with a razor (and) hit my friend on the scooter,” Richard Neeb texted Graham at 8am.

Graham, a medically retired U.S. Navy veteran, was sleeping in a tent in Swannanoa, helping to provide donations to residents through his Hearts Hurt organization on Day No. 7 after Tropical Storm Helene, he said.

A few weeks after he volunteered, he was introduced to a doctor named Mark, who he was told was there from Florida and had “a bunch” of new donations to offer, he said.

But Graham soon began to see some things that he felt were red flags.

“I don’t see this guy volunteering,” Graham told another volunteer, pointing out how he would show up at supply stations at “odd hours.” He became suspicious that the Florida doctor was “sneaking from above,” stealing items from supply centers in Swannanoa under the pretense of delivering the items to the Helene victims, Graham said.

“I was sitting in my truck looking out the front window and he shot right into my supply center,” Graham told the Citizen Times on Nov. 15, detailing an interaction he had with the doctor before the alleged theft. “I had a hunch he was stealing and I saw him rummaging through flashlights, all the expensive stuff.”

After that interaction, Graham had to return to his home in Ohio in late October when he received the message from Neeb, whom he had asked to keep an eye on his supplies. Graham began communicating with a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office detective on Oct. 28, according to texts obtained by the Citizen Times, about the incident, which was caught on video.

Mark Anthony Smith, 56, allegedly cut into Graham’s supply tent, stole several items and “urinated on a crib, causing damage,” according to texts and his arrest warrant obtained by the Citizen Times .

Smith was arrested on October 31 and accused of multiple crimesthe Citizen Times previously reported. During the search of Smith’s U-Haul, sheriff’s detectives found more than $12,000 in donations stolen from Hearts Hurt and more than $2,000 in personal items belonging to Graham, the release said.

Smith allegedly stole sleeping bags, camping stoves, generators, heaters, cans, paint and personal items, according to his arrest warrant. Smith then allegedly sold some of the items for cash at Alan’s Jewelry and Pawn in Asheville, the warrant states.

Graham said he has about 10 pawn tickets from items sold by Smith. He was able to get most of the stolen donations back from the sheriff’s office seizure and from detectives who retrieved items from the pawn shop.

Justin Sigmon, Smith’s court-appointed attorney, declined to comment on the case, saying it was still early and he had not received any discovery from the state about the facts of the case. Sigmon said it is his “understanding” that Smith provided supplies to Black Mountain and Swannanoa prior to his arrest.

Previous reporting: Florida doctor accused of stealing $12,000 in donations for Swannanoa Helene victims

Smith is a board-certified physician in Jacksonville, Fla., specializing in emergency medicine, according to the Florida Department of Health. The Duval County Jail is listed as the primary practice address.

In an incident report, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office lists Smith’s employer as NaphCare, a private healthcare provider based in Alabama. Last year, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office began contracting with NaphCare for services in the Duval County Jail, according to report from the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union.

Sigmon said he believes he worked for the prison “at one point” and is currently an emergency physician.

The Florida doctor’s bond was reduced to $50,000 on Nov. 1, which he posted on Nov. 5, freeing him from jail, according to court records.

More: Carolina Hurricanes donate $50,000, with more promised, to help rebuild Asheville rink

More: Rutherford County man arrested for FEMA threats; Sheriff Says “No Armed Militia”

Ryley Ober is a public safety reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of Indiana University and was a Citizen Times Summer News reporting intern in 2022. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on the Asheville Citizen Times: Swannanoa volunteer details Florida doctor’s alleged $12,000 donation theft