DELTONA Fla. – Volusia County deputies said a local couple has been linked to more than a dozen burglaries that took place within a 2-mile radius during a two-week period last month.
Gabrielle Soto, 21, and her boyfriend, Desmond Watson, 21, were arrested this week on multiple charges.
Deputies said surveillance video, evidence and testimony from a witness helped them link the couple to the burglaries. In each of the 15 break-ins, which happened between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14 in Deltona, the suspects entered through a rear window or sliding glass door on weekdays during work hours, according to a news release.
Cash, TVs, jewelry, electronics and a gun were among the items reported stolen. Deputies said some of the stolen items were pawned in Orlando.
"I don’t feel comfortable in my house anymore," said Rachelle Weirengo, whose home was burglarized Nov. 5.
She told News 6 the thieves pried open her back door, and they stole her family's television, her gun and even her child's piggy bank.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood praised deputies for solving these crimes and their overall 30 percent clearance rate for part 1 property crimes.
“They’re keeping the heat up, identifying crime trends as they’re happening and exhausting every lead in every case, and we’re seeing the results of that today,” Chitwood said. “I can’t say enough good things about the work our people are doing to solve every case they can, even if they’ve got little or nothing to go on from the start.”
Below is a list of the break-ins and the items that were stolen, according to authorities.
- Nov. 1, Trafalgar Street: Items in disarray but nothing stolen.
- Nov. 5, Dunlap Drive: Xbox 1S game system, Xbox 1 controller, guitar, guitar case, Valcom bag.
- Nov. 5, Gainesville Drive: Handgun, Spiderman piggy bank, two watches, 52-inch LG flat-screen TV, white Xbox 1S, Xbox 1 controller, Toshiba laptop and black bag, tools, three XBox video games, vodka, two passports, Social Security cards, marriage certificate, two backpacks, three checkbooks and a speaker.
- Nov. 5, Weybridge Street: 55-inch Vizio TV, Vizio sound bar, Samsung tablet S2, Asus Nexus 7 tablet.
- Nov. 5, Brentlawn Street: Two Samsung TVs, two Rokus, cash.
- Nov. 6, Rockhill Street: Xbox 1, 20 Xbox games, two iPads, gold necklace, a safe containing paperwork.
- Nov. 7, Horizon Street: 55-inch TV.
- Nov. 8, Halstead Street: 55-inch flat-screen TV, Xbox 1, Xbox controller, Xbox games stolen.
- Nov. 8, Wanda Lane: 55-inch 3D TV, Playstation 4, three remotes; safe missing.
- Nov. 8, Cobblestone Avenue: Xbox 1S, green multi-cam Xbox 1 controller, white Xbox 1 controller, iPhone 6, Nixon wristwatch.
- Nov. 8, Lily Court: Items in disarray, change stolen.
- Nov. 9, Nardello Drive: 60-inch Vizio TV, Vizio sound bar, cash.
- Nov. 14, Nardello Drive: Safe containing watches, documents, a drone, gold necklaces, jewelry box and laptop.
- Nov. 14, Covewood Avenue: Samsung tablet.
- Nov. 14, Persian Street: 40-inch TV, cash, Samsung tablet.
