Vacant Home, Model Home Burglaries Rise

Although contractors and construction companies may want to keep it quiet, Highlands County has its share of problems with vacant and model home burglaries.

"When it does happen, it tends to happen in waves," said Al Moretz, executive officer for the Highlands County Builders Association. "Obviously, the more isolated a site is, the better the chances are that it could get burglarized."

Moretz said that contractors probably don't like to talk about the burglaries because they don't want potential criminals to know specific homes that could be targeted for break-ins.

"The burglaries are sporadic," said Moretz. "Usually the thieves tend to have knowledge of the site's layout and know what they're doing."

Moretz said the burglars often take items that can be resold like copper wiring, countertops and appliances. He also said that he believes most of the burglars come from outside of the county.

"Appliances are typically the easiest things for (the burglars) to get their hands on and re-sell," said Moretz. "I think the majority of the time they leave the county with items and sell them in more occupied areas.

"It appears to me that (the burglaries) become more apparent right before the snowbird season," said Moretz.

Moretz went on to say that the problem can be costly not only for home builders and sellers, but also for potential homeowners.

"(After a burglary), it usually means that insurance premiums are going to increase," said Moretz. "And when that happens, the costs could be passed down to the home's price."

Lake Placid Chief Police Phil Williams said that the town has not seen any major burglaries of vacant homes recently, but said during his law enforcement career he has worked many cases involving the crimes.

"I remember working one summer when it seemed like we were constantly dealing with appliances being stolen from model homes," said Williams. "But I think that the contractors are starting to secure the homes better ... they're starting to do things like put up signs saying that the homes are construction zones, and they're not placing appliances in them until they become occupied."

To help detour burglars, the HCBA offers signs to contractors who have homes under construction which point out that trespassing on the premises is a felony.

The signs promote neighborhood involvement and crime prevention through the Heartland Crime Stoppers and are also available through the Highlands County Sheriff's Office crime prevention center located in the Lakeshore Mall.

"We've probably handed out between 15 and 20 signs over the last couple weeks," said Paul Hinman, a crime prevention practitioner for the sheriff's office. "It seems like the burglaries of vacant homes and construction sites have recently come to the forefront."

Hinman said that it wouldn't be possible for the sheriff's office to pull statistics directly associated to the burglaries because charges for the crimes often vary for suspects who are arrested and do not detail whether the structures were occupied.

Cmdr. Michael Rowan, of the Avon Park Police Department, said that he has not heard of any cases involving vacant structure burglaries over the last several months.

"A lot of time I just think the owners take their losses," said Rowan, who said the crimes could possibly be underreported. "It's one of those things where maybe they don't want to advertise that there could be crime in that neighborhood or that the structures could easily be broken into."

Sebring Police Department Cmdr. Steve Carr said that he was only aware of two vacant structure burglaries that have occurred within the city over the past several months.

"I wouldn't say it's a big problem," said Carr, who also said the burglaries could go under-reported. "But we encourage people to report anything that may be a theft or burglary."

A 'Mind-Boggling' Case

One of the more infamous vacant home burglary cases, which Hinman described as "mind-boggling," occurred last year at vacant home in Avon Park.

Last week, Thomas Alyn Newgent, of Avon Park, was sentenced to three years in prison for charges of the burglary of a structure causing damage over $10,000 and criminal mischief after he broke into a home on Oct. 20, 2006.

Newgent, 19, broke into the home located at 3040 Findley Road, reportedly with two other suspects and destroyed the inside of the home with an ax. Cobia General Contracting, which owned the home, estimated the damages at over $70,000.

"That was one of the most despicable acts of vandalism I've ever heard about," said Moretz.
The home was scheduled to be shown in the Highlands County Parade of Homes before it was damaged.

According to arrest reports, Newgent reportedly told authorities that he was "bored" and had nothing else to do, so he and the other suspects decided to cause the damage to the home.

When contacted about the issue, an official with Cobia said that the company had no comment on the Newgent case.