Deputies: Man who stole locksmith tools may be responsible for Deltona burglaries
A Deltona man found with stolen locksmith tools may have used the equipment to burglarize homes, Volusia sheriff's investigators said.
Eugene Staley, 22, is charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure/conveyance and grand theft and has not been connected to any of the burglaries but the break-ins are under investigation, said sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught on Friday.
Staley, who deputies say is unemployed, is in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $3,000 bail, a booking officer said.
A Sanford man, Jarvis Young, 20, who fled from deputies Wednesday but was arrested by Seminole County authorities, told Volusia deputies Staley, also known as "Jolly," broke into a locksmith's van in Deltona and stole lock-picking tools, reports show.
The van was burglarized the night of Oct. 30 at a Timbercrest Drive home. The van belonged to a mobile locksmith and the tools taken were used to open vehicles, homes and commercial locks, investigators said.
Young told investigators that after Staley got the locksmith's equipment he saw Staley practicing with the lock-picking tools, according to a report.
On Wednesday, deputies were called to a home on Baffin Street at 7:20 a.m. where a woman reported that a man rang her doorbell several times and walked away. The man then returned and rang the doorbell again and then left in a blue car that appeared to be an Impala.
The woman's father, leaving for work, also saw the blue car and a white car that looked like a Crown Victoria circling near the home.
After a description of the vehicles was radioed to deputies on patrol, a deputy recognized the cars as the vehicles reported in several burglaries committed on Tuesday.
As the deputy drove on Courtland Boulevard near Roland Drive, he saw a white Grand Marquis resembling a Crown Victoria behind him. He pulled over and let the vehicle pass and saw it pull into a driveway. The deputy saw Young come out of the Grand Marquis and approach the front door of the home, then return to the car and leave.
As deputies tried to conduct a traffic stop, Young sped away, driving through school zones at 80 mph, reports said.
Volusia deputies were then told by Seminole County deputies that the Grand Marquis was found in Sanford. The car was abandoned but shortly after, Seminole County deputies said they had stopped Young, getting out of a blue Chevy Lumina.
Young was arrested for having a stolen tag and probation violation and is in the Seminole County jail.
When Volusia deputies questioned Young, he told them about Staley breaking into the locksmith's van. Young even told Volusia investigators that the lock-picking tools could be found in a black Dodge car at a home at 1681 Montecito Ave.
Deputies found the car with the stolen locksmith's tools in it. Staley was also found at the home and was arrested.
Staley admitted breaking into the van and taking the tools but claimed he took the lock-picking tools because his friends asked for them, an arrest report shows.
