Four teenagers are facing burglary and grand theft charges in connection with crimes in Orlando and in Lakeland, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Orlando Police Department arrested three of the teenagers on March 18. Investigators said they were in a stolen car and were suspected in several business burglaries in Orlando.
The arrests helped Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives solve a smash-and-grab burglary of an EZ Wireless store in Lakeland that occurred earlier in the morning, authorities said.
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The Polk County burglary occurred at about 1:07 a.m. at the cellphone store on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, about two hours before the Orlando burglary.
Security video showed the front glass door being shattered and five culprits taking 30 replacement glass phone screens and eight cellphones that were there to be repaired.
The five people were wearing hooded sweaters and gloves. Investigators said the value of stolen items was $4,000.
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Authorities said officers found cellphones in the stolen car, and later that morning, the phones were determined to be those stolen from EZ Wireless.
The car was stolen from a residence in Mulberry on March 17, authorities said.
The suspects arrested in Orlando were identified as: 14-year-old Javier Benito from Mulberry, 16-year-old Jarret Frederick from Nichols and 16-year-old Joshua Deus from Bartow.
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Polk County detectives said that during their investigation, they identified one of the two remaining burglars as 15-year-old Ivan Hernandez from Mulberry.
Detectives said they met with Hernandez at Mulberry High School, and during an interview, he confessed to stealing the car and committing the EZ Wireless store burglary with the other culprits.
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Investigators are working to identify the remaining burglar.
Polk County detectives charged the four teenagers with burglary-structure/damage, grand theft, conspiracy to commit burglary structure, conspiracy commit grand theft, possession of burglary tools with intent to use and tampering with physical evidence.
"These teens were out committing serious crimes in two different counties, starting at 1 a.m. As illustrated by their criminal histories, they're definitely walking down the wrong path in life, and their punishment needs to reflect that," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
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Authorities said Deus was also charged with violation of probation for a 2017 burglary of a marked PCSO vehicle.
Deus has a prior criminal history of 17 felonies.
Benito has a prior criminal history of 10 felonies.
Hernandez has prior felonies, including burglary and tampering with evidence.
Frederick has two prior felonies.
Deus, Hernandez, and Frederick were transported to the Polk County Juvenile Assessment Center. Benito remains at the Orange Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS or log onto www.P3tips.com to submit your tip.
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