Sumter County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a suspect in a rash of car burglaries in The Villages.
John Edward DuBois, 19, of Summerfield, is facing multiple charges of burglary and theft after turning himself in this past Friday at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at Pinellas Plaza.
A woman in the Village of Tall Trees walked out of her residence at 3:35 a.m. Feb. 17 and spotted a man walking down the street, according to an arrest report. She dialed 911.
Multiple vehicles had been burglarized:
• A wallet containing a driver’s license, medical cards, a Social Security card, cash and business cards was stolen from a black Chevrolet HHR.
• About $20 in cash and phone charging cables were stolen from the center console of a black 2019 Mercedes Benz utility vehicle.
• Nothing was taken from a gray 2012 Volvo XC90, but it had been rummaged through by a burglar.
• Also rummaged through was a white 2011 Chrysler 300 bearing an Ontario license plate.
Surveillance footage from the gate at Tall Trees Lane and Parr Drive captured the license plate number of a white Chevrolet passenger car passing through at 3:20 a.m., the report said.
The vehicle, occupied by multiple suspects, was pulled over by a deputy who observed a Polar Pop beverage in the car. No one was arrested during the traffic stop. The deputy went to the Circle K at Southern Trace Plaza, believing the Polar Pop beverage had been purchased at the location. Surveillance from the Circle K showed the white vehicle had been there at 3:05 a.m. that day, shortly before the vehicle burglaries.
After tracing the vehicle’s license plate to DuBois, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy was enlisted to pay a visit to DuBois’ home. DuBois was arrested on an unrelated charge of marijuana possession and booked at the Marion County Jail.
After bonding out, DuBois turned himself in to Sumter County sheriff’s deputies in connection with the car burglaries in the Village of Tall Trees. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $22,000 bond.