Auto Burglars Busted Red Handed, Deputies Say

Two Sarasota men face a long list of criminal charges after county deputies say they caught them in the act of breaking into vehicles in the area of Tuttle Avenue.

The case against Jessie Himes, 30, and David Newman, 24, began to unfold when a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office detective learned the two men might be responsible for a number of recent auto burglaries in the area of Tuttle Avenue and Oak Street. Acting on that information, the sheriff’s office’s tactical unit set out to conduct a surveillance operation on the pair Tuesday night.

Deputies watched as the two men, riding bicycles, attempted to break into a number of vehicles, a media release stated. At one point, one of the men traded his bicycle, which deputies say was stolen ,for drugs. The two are then accused of proceeding to try to break into more cars with one man on foot looking for open doors and the other on a bike serving in the role of lookout.

All told, deputies watched as the two attempted to break into 15 separate vehicles. On the 16th try, an unlocked door was found, the release said.

Deputies promptly arrested the two.

After being read his rights, deputies say Himes admitted to breaking into vehicles and even showed them the locations of the evening’s thwarted attempts.

Both men were booked into the Sarasota County Jail early Wednesday on a lengthy list of charges, including multiple attempted burglaries and dealing in stolen property.

Booking photos of Jessie Himes (1) and David Newman (2) courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

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