STUART — Police have identified a dozen people in connection with dozens of car burglaries and thefts in the past several months, saying some were members of rival gangs competing to see who could claim the most crimes.

One incident involved a theft spree off Palm City Road earlier this month.

Five cars were reported stolen during the early morning hours of Oct. 18, according to police, while another ten cars, which had been left unlocked, were burglarized. The stolen vehicles were later recovered in the East Stuart area, with one driven into a utility pole and another abandoned in a street, police spokesman Sgt. Marty Jacobson said.

Police identified the following people as being involved in the last three months worth of car burglaries and thefts, totaling more than 100 car burglaries and 11 stolen vehicles in the city:
John Clark, 30; Orga Espedy, 20; Albert Johnson, 18; James Peterson, 18; Anthony Rogers, 19; Vontrelle Silas, 18; and six boys ranging in age from 17 to 9.

All either live or at one time lived in Martin County, Jacobson said.

Police said suspects would enter neighborhoods on foot with the intent of burglarizing unlocked cars. If they found car keys, they would steal the car.

Most of those allegedly involved already face theft charges, but Rogers and a 17-year-old boy are still at large and have outstanding warrants.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 3:38 pm and is filed under Crime, Martin County, Stuart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.