April 21, 2008
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

MEN ARRESTED; TREASURE TROVE OF STOLEN ITEMS FOUND

A pair of thieves must have had a dilemma on their hands. They had just burglarized several vehicles at a home near Ormond Beach Sunday morning and found a set of keys to one of them. But stealing the 2005 Volkswagon Touareg required leaving behind a motorcycle of theirs. That decision proved to be their undoing. A Volusia County deputy who later responded to the car theft call spotted the motorcycle poorly concealed behind some trees and used the address connected to the license plate to find the thieves. Deputies and Daytona Beach Police Department officers responded to the Daytona address and found two men in their carport with the stolen property. During their arrest, more property believed to be stolen was found in the house, possibly connecting the pair to as many as a dozen other area burglaries.

Deputies responded to 292 Wildwood Lane, Ormond Beach at 6 a.m. to investigate the burglaries and vehicle theft. Three vehicles in the driveway had been ransacked and several items had been taken from the garage, such as a weed eater, chain saw, pressure washer and even a plastic tablecloth. All of this happened while the victims slept inside the house. The vehicles had all been left unlocked, and the thieves had found a garage door opener in one along with keys to the Touareg, which was parked in the garage. The thieves emptied the garage, tried to conceal the motorcycle and finally drove the Touareg to their home at 327 South Seneca Street, Daytona Beach.

Deputy James Greene found the motorcycle and checked the license plate. He then requested that deputies and Daytona officers go to the South Seneca address. The stolen Touareg was there parked alongside a Ford Expedition that also turned out to have been stolen overnight from 269 Spreading Oaks Lane, Ormond Beach. Deputies and officers arrived to see Christian Gingras, 34, and Dominick Lasasso, 35, unloading property from the back of the stolen Expedition. Gingras was quickly apprehended, but Lasasso fled. Daytona officers found him later just down the street. A woman at 303 South Seneca Street told officers that Lasasso had tried burglarizing her garage and even offered her $50 to hide him. 

Both men were charged with conveyance burglary, occupied residential burglary, auto theft and property grand theft. Daytona officers also charged Lasasso with structure burglary for the 303 South Seneca Street incident. They were both booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. Lasasso has an $82,500 bond and Gingras has an $80,000 bond. 

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the pair’s home and are inspecting property found inside to see what might have been reported stolen. It is believed that as many as a dozen other crimes in the area can be connected to Gingras and Lasasso. More charges are pending.