By: Sharon Aron Baron
A Broward Sheriff’s Office road patrol deputy spotted something suspicious at 2 a.m in the Tamarac Lakes North community, where mostly elderly residents live: two teenaged boys lurking near a car.
There had been a recent spate of car burglaries in the vicinity, and Deputy Robert Rausch noticed as he approached the duo on June 7, they were carrying masks, gloves, and one was holding a cup holder full of coins.
It turned out, the 15 and 16-year-old boys had just committed four car burglaries, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. By the end of their initial interview with detectives, each teen faced 24 counts of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, three counts of grand theft, six counts of petit theft and one count of possession of cannabis for crimes in Tamarac and Oakland Park.
They may face similar additional charges in other jurisdictions.
The burglars are believed to have taken items from unlocked cars, although several victims believed their cars were locked at the time, there was no evidence of forced entry.
After being given permission to search one of the boy’s bedrooms by his mother, detectives found a stolen gun, iPhones, an iPod, sunglasses, watches, wallets, medication and other items. They broke into several cars but found nothing of value.
Anyone with information about car burglaries can report anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers of Broward County at (954) 493-TIPS (8477).
