Make TBO Your Home Page| Subscribe To The Paper| Advertise With Us| Contact Us| Login| Edit Profile| Register
Highlands Today
Email
Print
More Arrests Possible In Car Thefts
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: January 30, 2008
SEBRING — The arrest of a 15-year-old boy Tuesday, charged with stealing a car and running from sheriff's deputies will in all likelihood not be the end of the story, according to Sheriff's Lt. Tim Lethbridge.
Further arrests are possible.
"If we make arrests too early it will hamper a thorough investigation," Lethbridge said Wednesday.
The heart of the investigation is linking a series of car thefts, car burglaries, home burglaries and other open cases together. Lethbridge said he "wouldn't discount hardly anything" at this point.
Lethbridge would not say how many suspects his detectives are looking at at this time, in connection with a rash of car burglaries, car thefts, home burglaries and other crimes.
However, at least four others are either mentioned by name or referred to in the arrest report of Joseph Alan Thrift, 15, of 4430 Sturgeon Drive, in Sebring.
Two of the juveniles who were detained Tuesday by sheriff's deputies have been released, but according to the arrest report on Thrift, they did reportedly get into the stolen Mercury Sable with Thrift at about 2 a.m. Tuesday.
The 1995 Sable was stolen from a home in the 3000 block of Marlin Drive, in Sebring Ridge. The car was valued at $2,500.
Thrift reportedly picked up two other juveniles on Marlin Drive, the report stated.
The trio drove to Sebring Hills, from where two other cars were stolen by two other persons, according to the report. Who those persons are is being investigated.
The stolen Sable was spotted by Sgt. Christopher Smith, who tried to pull the car over.
Thrift reportedly crashed the car in a vacant field with thick brush and ran from the scene. He was located by sheriff's investigators at his home, the report stated.
One of the juveniles was caught at the car and a second was tracked by a sheriff's K-9 team.
"We've got a lot of (crime) reports to look through," Lethbridge said. "It will take a lot of man-hours to compare and see what this group is responsible for."
It may take some time, Lethbridge said, but additional information would be available in a press release, which could be a few weeks out.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2010 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
