SARASOTA, Fla. — Five men are behind bars after breaking into a Sarasota home and stealing more than $200,000 worth of jewelry and designer handbags, the police department said in a release.
Just after 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 4, officers were dispatched to a home on Tangier Way for reports of a burglary. When they arrived, homeowners told them they returned from dinner to find a large glass door had been broken and a safe in their closet was cut and pried open.
Passports, vehicle titles and more than $200,000 in designer handbags and jewelry were missing, the family said.
Home surveillance video showed three men wearing gloves and masks entering the home, according to police.
The footage also showed a Honda Odyssey van driving away from the home after the burglary, police added. Detectives said they traced this van back to the restaurant the family was having dinner at beforehand.
Another vehicle was also spotted in the parking lot of the restaurant: an SUV that detectives said was used as a "lookout car" for the crime.
The police department said it used these cars to track down five men at a hotel in Orange County.
Detectives executed a search warrant of the hotel room and cars and reportedly collected:
- Clothing worn by the men in the surveillance video
- $122,212 in cash
- Louis Vuitton handbags
- Jewelry including watches, necklaces, earrings and rings
- High-end liquor bottles
- GPS trackers
- Multiple cellphones
- Multiple IDs from different states and countries
- A saw with several blades
- Screwdrivers and crowbars
- Walkie-talkies and a radio frequency jammer
Andres Suarez Lopez, 28; Jefferson Nunez Suarez, 32; Oscar Londono Rubiano, 35; Juan Cuartas Castellanos, 32, and Juan Quinones, 50, were arrested.
They are each facing felony charges of grand theft of over $100,000, residential burglary with property damage and possession of burglary tools.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Detective Steven Fergus at 941-263-6059 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online.
