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Neighbors catch suspected burglars of home where Mount Dora police chief is staying

Suspects stole more than $100,000 worth of items

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Residents of an Orange County neighborhood jumped in Tuesday to catch the suspects of a burglary at a home where Mount Dora’s interim police chief happened to be staying.

Interim Police Chief, Mike Gibson, is currently staying in a home near West Lake Butler Road with family while his home in Lake County undergoes renovations. While Gibson had a department-issued shirt taken, his relatives weren’t so lucky.

Deputies said more than $100,000 worth of clothes, purses, shoes and jewelry were taken along with three semi-automatic handguns.

Brian Buckley lives near the home where the robbery happened. He said he saw the suspects running through his backyard.

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“When they passed through our yard, I just thought it was a Halloween trick and it was not it was actually a robbery in progress,” Buckley said.

News 6 spoke to the homeowners off-camera. They told us the break-in happened on Tuesday while they were at the Four Seasons.

Buckley said once he realized what was happening, he and his neighbors sprang into action, calling 911 and even detaining some of the suspects themselves.

“My wife screamed in the backyard to me and the cops in the backyard, and my neighbors took the guys down and got them handcuffed by the cops,” Buckley said.

Deputies have arrested 24-year-old Regalio MunozFuentes and 24-year-old Franco Miranda in connection to the case. MunozFuentes had his first appearance on Wednesday where the judge issued him no bond for armed burglary of a dwelling with a firearm.

Fuentes is also facing several counts of grand theft.

The second suspect, Franco Miranda, was scheduled to have a first appearance on Thursday but refused. However, the judge still discussed his case. In addition to getting no bond for one of his charges, he also has an immigration hold.

Franco faces a slew of charges as well, including armed burglary of a dwelling with a firearm, escape during transport, and several counts of grand theft.

The homeowners said they believe all of the items have been returned with the exception of one of the handguns.

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