NAVARRE — Sean Banks, 19, Parker Ragsdale, 18, and Timothy Bain, 17 have been arrested in connection with 28 burglary cases in one Navarre neighborhood, according to Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Rich Aloy.
According to the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office, there have been 41 vehicle burglaries, 16 stolen vehicles, and seven stolen guns in Navarre in 2017.
All those crimes have at least one thing in common, according to Aloy. All of the victims' car doors were unlocked.
“It’s a consistent problem,” Aloy said. “The No. 1 crime in Santa Rosa County.”
The car owner is not the only one who is affected, Aloy said.The crimes cost the county taxpayers and take up valuable time of deputies.
One burglar may steal from multiple cars on a street, but each theft means a separate victim requiring his or her own investigation meaning a report, interview, crime scene investigation, fingerprinting and evidence submission, Aloy said.
“It’s costing the county all of the manpower required to process the vehicles at the crime scene.”
Meanwhile, deputies still have other calls to answer.
“We still have a shift to maintain. We still have to respond to other people’s calls, in progress crimes. There are so many other things we could be doing. Myself, I’ve said, ‘Listen, ma’am, I’ll be back later. I have a bank alarm going off.’ It’s a lot of work for not locking your car.
“The victim has a choice. They’ve made themselves a target,” Aloy said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Three arrested in connection with 28 vehicle burglaries