His once-a-week forays in North Pinellas have left authorities baffled. He may be working with others, a sheriff's detective says.
By YUXING ZHENG
Published November 18, 2005
Maybe it's his only day off.
Maybe he's just scared of the dark.
Maybe he visited the area and liked it so much he returns - once a week.
But the one sure thing about this burglary suspect, aside from habit, is that authorities are looking for him.
The man is wanted in connection with 24 burglaries in North Pinellas since May, all occurring between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesdays. The most recent burglary occurred - one guess - Tuesday in Palm Harbor.
The Tuesday thief enters apartments while residents are not home, stealing laptops, computers, cameras, jewelry and cash.
"They knock on the door, softly say "maintenance,' and if no one answers, they bypass the lock," sheriff's Detective Pete Eigo said.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic or black man with a light complexion and stocky build. He is 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He has a goatee and wears glasses.
He might be working with others, Eigo said. On one occasion, a woman who claimed to be a leasing agent entered an apartment she thought was unoccupied. The occupant, however, was at home and just too busy to respond to the knock. The occupant told authorities the woman looked surprised when she found somebody home, said she had the wrong apartment and quickly left, Eigo said.
All of the burglaries took place in medium- to high-end, large apartment complexes in Clearwater, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs.
The suspects place gum or putty over the peepholes of neighboring doors.
Detectives do not know how the suspects enter the apartments because there is no evidence of picked locks, Eigo said.
None of the stolen items, valued at about $100,000 total, have been recovered.
Eigo recommends tenants enable security alarms whenever they leave their apartment, mark valuables with a driver's license number and jot down the serial numbers of their valuables.
So why does this particular burglar limit his thievery to Tuesdays? "We've looked for the common ground, either certain deliveries or services, bug spray or lawn care. We haven't found a common ground of any services in these complexes," Eigo said. "The person might have a full-time job and Tuesday's his day off. We don't know. He's a creature of habit."
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.
