HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — The sheriff's office has charged eight teens accused of stealing numerous cash, firearms, credit cards and other items from different cars in Hernando County.
Larry Williams, Quantez Powell and Jashon Ford who are each 19, along with two 17-year-olds, two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old, are all facing more than 150 charges combined, including grand theft auto and burglary of a conveyance.
In February and March of this year, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said in a news release they saw a significant rise in vehicle burglaries, with more than 150 reported within that time frame.
Those accused of burglarizing cars work with a group of people most of the time to steal items from unlocked cars, the sheriff's office says.
After detectives began working with Crime Analysis personnel, deputies say they identified and tracked patterns of when the crimes would occur and arrested the eight teens.
"Detectives want to remind citizens to not only LOCK THEIR VEHICLE(S), but to remove all valuables, including firearms, before doing so," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Authorities say most of the teens arrested did not live in Hernando County and would go to the area only to steal from cars. The teens reportedly also committed crimes in other counties.
Detectives were able to recover and return stolen items, firearms and cars back to the rightful owners, including the recovery of a firearm that had been stolen in St. Petersburg last year, law enforcement says.
The sheriff's office says the investigation of the car burglaries in the area remains ongoing.
