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Burglars and vandals strike in the Wesley Chapel and Land O'Lakes areas. Some residents pledge to watch for the culprits.
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 5, 2002
Nearly a dozen Wesley Chapel residents awoke Tuesday to find that their cars had been burglarized during an overnight string of thefts that netted $10,000 worth of belongings.
Meanwhile, miles down the road, a trail of smashed car windows, slashed tires and other acts of vandalism greeted homeowners in several Land O'Lakes neighborhoods.
The burglars in Wesley Chapel stole everything from compact discs to golf clubs to tools to jewelry to a laptop computer. In several cases, they broke car windows to gain entry, but mostly they went through unlocked car doors, according to sheriff's reports.
In Land O'Lakes, vandals smashed at least five car windows and slashed at least eight tires, reports stated. They also uprooted a tree in one yard, smashed a mailbox and poured tomato sauce on another car. But no burglaries were reported in the area.
Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said he wasn't sure if the burglaries and the vandalism were related, pointing out that in one area there was little vandalism but much theft, while the other area experienced vandalism but no burglary.
But he said deputies would be looking deeper into all the cases.
"It has got our attention," Doll said. "We'll be taking added measures to try to catch the perpetrators and keep it from happening again."
Still, he said, catching the criminals in the act could prove difficult.
"It's hard to prevent this type of crime," Doll said. "They can do it and get out of there quickly."
Deputies won't be alone in searching for the criminals, at least not in the Oak Grove community of Land O'Lakes, where several of the vandalisms occurred.
Residents started an organized neighborhood crime watch in March, and about a dozen planned to arm themselves with video cameras and spend Tuesday night on the lookout in case the vandals returned.
"We're going to put a stop to this," Robinson said. "I'm not happy about it. We have spent too much money on our homes and our vehicles. We work for a living. It's time to show them that crime watch works."
Wesley Chapel neighborhoods where car burglaries took place include Pine Ridge, Villages of Wesley Chapel, Villages of Wesley Brook and Citrus Trace. Burglaries even took place at the Comfort Inn at 5642 Oakley Blvd. Land O'Lakes neighborhoods where the bulk of vandalism took place include Oak Grove, Cypress Trails, Twin Lake and an area near Lake Floyd.
Monday night's crime streak marks the second time this year that a wave of minor burglaries has plagued central Pasco. In February, deputies arrested two men, 19 and 22, suspected in a string of burglaries that had struck the Meadow Pointe community in Wesley Chapel since November.
Robinson said he's hoping for arrests in the latest incidents, too. While deputies continue investigating, Robinson promised he and his neighbors will be on the lookout as well.
"I think it's going to be a long night," Robinson said.
And if they don't come back right away?
"We'll come tomorrow night. We'll do it as long as it takes," he said. "I"m pretty confident that we'll catch them."