Sarasota Burglary Tied to Organized Crime, Deputies Say

SARASOTA, FL – The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of three people deputies say are organized criminals who travel to the state specifically to commit burglaries and other crimes.

The incident that led to the arrests unfolded Sunday around 4:30 p.m. when deputies received a call about a burglary in progress on Founders Club Drive. A 16-year-old girl told them a woman was looking in her windows while another person repeatedly knocked on the door. While still on the phone with 911, the girl saw another suspect wearing gloves try to enter the home through its lanai, a sheriff’s office media release stated.

Right at that point, the girl’s parents returned home and confronted a woman outside the home. She ran back to an awaiting black Chevrolet SUV, the sheriff’s office said. Before the SUV took off, the father took a photo of it and was able to get a good description of the male driver. The mom jotted down the tag number.

It didn’t take long for deputies to catch up to the vehicle on Fruitville Road. Deputies confirmed the people in the SUV were the same who approached the house and then brought them into custody, the release said.

Deputies noted that “all three gave detectives different accounts of why they were at the home.”

The three people, the sheriff’s office said, used “the same pattern as that of organized groups that typically travel throughout Florida for the sole purpose of committing thefts, burglaries and related crime,” the release stated. “The groups are typically from Chicago and arrive in our area between November and May.”

This particular scheme, the sheriff’s office said, involves using a rented vehicle that is driven by a man, typically. The driver drops off two to three women in a neighborhood to break into homes. The women take jewelry and other items, the release said, and then meet the driver at a predetermined location to make their getaways.

Those arrested in Sunday’s crime are Renata Mendes, 57, and Aniela Rapacinski, 57. They are charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling. Adam Borowski, 53, was charged for being an accessory to a burglary of an occupied dwelling.

“All three suspects have multiple aliases and their true identities cannot be confirmed at this time,” the sheriff’s office said. “Detectives are still working to properly identify the suspects and possibly connect them to other crimes.”

Mendes, deputies noted, has warrants in Collier County and from New Jersey.

The investigation is ongoing.

All three are being held without bond in the Sarasota County Jail.

Booking photos of Mendes, Rapacinski and Borowski courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office