Earnest Crawford stole about $50,000 in goods in burglaries, but it was his generosity with the booty that gave him away to authorities.
By CHRIS TISCH and BILL LEVESQUE
Published August 7, 2003
CLEARWATER - Earnest Crawford's downfall was a gift.
Crawford gave one of his former girlfriends a laptop computer he stole during a spate of burglaries in Clearwater late last year.
Detectives for months had been trying to catch the cat burglar who was terrorizing neighborhoods, breaking into about 30 homes and stealing up to $50,000 in goods, including that computer.
Then Detective Philip Jackson came up with an idea. He decided to check with the computer company to see if anyone had tried to update the software on the laptop.
Indeed, someone had. It was a woman in Pinellas County. When police contacted her, she told them the computer had been a gift from Earnest Crawford.
Soon after, Crawford was charged with 17 property crimes in connection with the burglaries.
On Monday, Crawford was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to those charges. Because he was released from a prison sentence for burglary only three months before his latest series began, he must serve each day of that sentence.
"He was a one-man crime spree," said Pinellas prosecutor Pat Siracusa.
Clearwater police said Crawford, 29, broke into homes during a three-month period late last year. He typically unscrewed outside light bulbs or motion-detector lights, then used a large screwdriver to pry open sliding glass doors. He stole cash, jewelry, purses and other small items.
Each burglary occurred late at night while the homeowners were there, but asleep. In one burglary, an occupant awoke. But Crawford told him something to the effect of: "You're dreaming. Go back to sleep," Siracusa said.
"A burglary violates a person in a way you can't get back," Siracusa said. "This night burglar goes in and doesn't care whether the home is occupied or not."
Police soon noticed a pattern. They set up a surveillance team and notified neighborhood watch groups to keep an eye out. That paid off with the arrest of another burglar who broke into unoccupied homes, but was not bold enough to sneak into houses where people were sleeping. That man was arrested and later sentenced to probation.
But police knew their guy was still out there.
That's when Jackson hatched the idea of tracking the computer. He called the service line for Compaq and gave them the computer's serial number. They said someone had tried to get the computer serviced. That eventually led to Crawford.
When confronted by police, Crawford admitted to the burglaries. He said he did it to make money for his family.
Though Crawford was suspected in more than 30 break-ins, prosecutors could only prove he committed about a dozen. He pleaded guilty Monday to 11 burglaries and four attempted burglaries, as well as single counts of possession of burglary tools and dealing in stolen property.
He could have been sentenced to a maximum of 410 years in prison.
Judge Richard Luce also ordered him to pay 11 victims a combined $17,000 in restitution. Siracusa said "a majority" of the stolen goods have been returned to the owners.
Court records show Crawford was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1992 after his arrest on more than 40 charges of burglary, auto theft and grand theft. He served 10 years and was released last August, but soon was up to his old tricks, police said.
Police also later arrested Crawford's stepbrother, Steven A. Mitchell, on charges he pawned some of the stolen goods. Mitchell, 22, is still awaiting trial on those charges.
