Four men were arrested early Thursday morning, February 27, after they were caught in the act of burglarizing a business in Punta Gorda.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., a Charlotte County deputy was patrolling the business due to a burglary that had occurred the night before. As he approached the building, he heard voices inside. Suddenly, one of the individuals shouted “Policia!” and four men ran toward a pickup truck parked inside a fenced-in area. The deputy returned to his patrol vehicle and reported the incident to dispatch, requesting additional units.
As responding deputies located the truck, it came to a stop, and three of the suspects fled on foot while the fourth remained in the truck’s bed. The fleeing suspects were later seen near the Charlotte County Jail before continuing toward Cheney Bros., Inc.
The four men were identified as:
- Damian Alvarez-Rodriguez, 27
- Franklin Yobal Miranda, 21
- Yudier Moysee Burgos-Lopez, 28
- Landys Perez-Medina, 35
Deputies, along with Punta Gorda Police and Florida Highway Patrol, quickly established a perimeter. The Aviation Unit and K9 Unit were deployed, with K9 Zoe tracking the suspects through water, wooded areas, and over a fence into the CBI trailer lot. Once inside, K9 Rico located all three remaining suspects hiding in a trailer.
Following their arrests, the men were interviewed and confessed to the burglary. Investigators determined that the group had traveled from the Tampa area specifically to target the business, knowing it had been burglarized the previous night.
All four were charged with Burglary and Resisting without Violence and transported to the Charlotte County Jail.
“I want to say how much I appreciate these individuals running directly to the Jail… it really makes the commute a lot easier for my deputies. Seriously, though, when criminals come to Charlotte County thinking that we aren’t paying attention or we’re just not anticipating their nonsense, they learn quickly that is not the case. I thank my deputies and our fellow law enforcement partners for their coordinated efforts in catching these suspects immediately, ” said Sheriff Bill Prummell.
Aviation footage of the search and apprehension can be viewed below:
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