April 17, 2007
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

RASH OF SMASH AND GRAB BURGLARIES INVESTIGATED IN DELTONA 

A series of “smash-and-grab” business burglaries in Deltona was discovered early Tuesday morning. Five businesses had glass on their front doors smashed and three places had cash registers stolen. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office investigators are working with the Orange City Police Department because a similar burglary happened in their jurisdiction. Investigators believe that most, if not all, of the burglaries are linked to the same person or group of people, but they haven’t ruled out the possibility that some of the incidents aren’t related. 
                          
                 To view video click on box above 

The first burglary discovered was at Deltona Liquor, 1806 Elkcam Blvd. Deputies responded to a burglar alarm at approximately 3:21 a.m. and found that a glass door had been shattered and a cash register was missing. Other deputies on patrol were advised to check businesses in their areas, which led to finding more break-ins. 

Great Clips Hair Salon and Contours Express Gym, both at a shopping plaza at 2160 Howland Blvd., had their front doors smashed in, but neither business owner who responded to the scene reported that anything was stolen. Deputies then found that Crown Cleaners, 2120 Saxon Blvd., had been hit and a cash register was missing. The Orange City Police Department also found that a Subway restaurant had been hit in a similar fashion on Saxon Boulevard. 

Finally, I Love NY Pizza, 2772 Elkcam Blvd., also had a smashed front door and missing cash register. However, the restaurant had a video surveillance system that captured a burglar in action. The suspect captured on film is a white male with possible facial hair, between the ages of 25 and 35. He is approximately 6’ tall and wore a white hoodie with a plaid jacket, dark pants and white shoes. He apparently used a hammer to smash the glass door. 

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Sheriff’s Investigator Craig Yackel at (386) 860-7030 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida toll-free at 1-888-277-TIPS. Callers to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.