Deltona, FL - Three teenagers have been arrested for stealing valuables from a Deltona home.
On Thursday afternoon, three teenagers (ages 17, 16, and 14) went into an unlocked home on Aladdin Drive and made off with two rifles, a shotgun, a pistol, several silver bars worth $20,000, silver certificates, a $6,000 coin collection, a knife collection, thousands of dollars in jewelry, a safe, personal paperwork, credit cards and other valuables.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies used a shoeprint and nearby surveillance cameras to find and arrest the teenagers less than two hours later.
The burglary was reported at 4:52 PM. The victim said he walked into his house and realized things had been moved and stolen.
A deputy found a shoe print in the sand near the back door. She spoke with neighbors, and one said they saw two teens near the house that day. Surveillance tapes showed two suspects at the house taking armfuls of loot and putting them in another house down the street. Deputies identified both suspects in the recording, and a third suspect was seen helping to throw garbage bags away.
When deputies arrived at the house from the video, the suspects were out. Deputies got permission from an adult to search the house and quickly found some of the stolen loot.
Around 6:30 PM, the teens came home and were arrested as deputies continued to look for stolen items. The suspects denied their involvement.
According to VCSO, the 14-year-old’s shoe “was similar in size, shape and tread to the shoe print discovered by the first deputy on the scene.”
The rest of the loot was found at two other nearby houses on Babcock Avenue and Bailey Avenue.
The 17-year-old and 16-year-old were both charged with armed burglary and grand theft. The 14-year-old was charged with being an accessory. All three were brought to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Daytona Beach.
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