Big bust in South Florida leads to arrest of several said to be linked in burglary ring
TAVERNIER - A big bust out of South Florida, as the Monroe County Sheriff's Office joined forces with Miami-Dade Police to arrest 10 men they say are linked to a massive burglary ring.
"In this crime spree, we have charged 122 criminal charges in Monroe alone, said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
Deputies say they were tipped off about multiple Garmin marine GPS thefts back in March and kicked off their official investigation in May.
They say multiple marinas across 17 counties were targeted.
Deputies determined that 19-year-old Juan Felipe Villegas and 22-year-old Lazaro Gonzalez Munos were the leaders of the ring and say that at least one of them was out on bond for a similar crime when they were taken into custody.
"This is a well-organized group that won't take no for an answer, don't care about being arrested and our on bond — the next night, they're doing it again," said Sheriff Ramsay.
Police say the suspects would sneak into marinas and steal the GPS's, estimated to be worth about $5,000 each, then sell them.
They say the suspects stole more than $2.5 million worth of GPS's.
Through their investigation, police obtained text messages from Villegas instructing his associates to stay away from areas he highlighted in red on a Florida map, saying they were police hot spots, while saying areas circled blue were safer to target.
"This is sending messages out to their field troops about where to go, where not to go. What's hot, what's not. Again, very well organized," said Sheriff Ramsay.
Ultimately, the ring leaders were apprehended in Collier County with the help of their sheriff's office.
Police are still searching for one suspect, 53-year-old Milton Gonzalez Gil and are asking anyone who knows his whereabouts to come forward.
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