TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Teen Charged In Sebring Burglary Spree

ADVERTISEMENT

By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: November 18, 2008

SEBRING A 16-year-old faces a number of charges following his arrest Saturday for an alleged burglary spree.

The youth, whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, faces three counts of burglary of a dwelling or structure and causing over $1,000 in damage, three counts of property damage over $1,000, two counts of giving a false identification to a law enforcement officer and one count each of possession of burglary tools, petit theft over $100 to under $300, trespassing on school grounds and probation violation.

Officers reportedly responded to the Dollar General Store at 1540 Lakeview Drive at approximately 10:11 Saturday night in reference to an alarm.

They discovered that the front glass door, valued at $1,500, had been smashed in. Once inside, officers found five cell phones strewn across the floor in front of the Trac Fone cellphone display rack, according to the arrest report.

Once the manager arrived, the video surveillance was reviewed, which reportedly showed a black male wearing a black T-shirt with a design on the front, baggy blue jeans and black sneakers break the front window. He then ran into the store toward the front cash register.

He returned a short time later with a yellow Dollar General bag with items inside, according to the arrest report.

Then, at approximately 10:30 p.m., an in-store security camera at Publix, located at 2824 U.S. 27 S., caught the suspect breaking out the store's eastern-most automatic glass doors, causing approximately $1,500 in damages.

Officers who reviewed the film said the subject in the video was a black male wearing a black T-shirt with a large design on the front and light-colored blue jeans. It was unclear from the footage if he took anything from the store.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., officers located the suspect on Lakeview Drive near the Sherwin Williams paint store. He had a solar light in his right hand and a letter opener in his left, the report stated.

When he saw the police, the suspect dropped the solar light and put the letter opener behind his back. Officers approached the youth and ordered him to drop the opener and lay on the ground.

Officers searched his pockets and reportedly found four cellphones with chargers, each matching those displayed on the Trac Fone case at Dollar General.

The suspect only identified himself as "John Doe," the report stated, and told police they might want to "check" Sebring Middle School, Sebring High School and the Salvation Army.

Twenty minutes later, officers went to SMS and began a search. The rear main office glass door was found broken and two rocks were discovered inside.

The school's principal, Sandra Whidden, arrived on the scene and the parties, with the assistance of the school resource officer, Wilma Tindell, looked at the security video.

In it, they allegedly saw the suspect throw the two rocks through the glass door before kicking the lower section to increase the size of the hole so he could enter. The damage to the door was approximately $1,200.

The suspect was reportedly inside the office for twenty seconds before leaving with an unknown item in his hand.

He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Bartow. The reports did not indicate any type of damage at SHS or the Salvation Army thrift store.

SPD officers Paul Deshazo, Sean Bueford and Robert McConnell made the arrest.

Brad Dickerson can be reached at 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT