After a string of carjackings in Stuart, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said some old-time police work paid off. “We identified two suspects, a juvenile and an adult who had committed all these robberies and I have to say it was very hard work, dedicated work by our detectives,” he said. Your Neighborhood: Local WPBF 25 News coverage Sheriff William Snyder said one of those suspects has been identified as 18-year-old Anthony Batista. Deputies say he had a 14-year-old accomplice on the night of March 7 into the morning of March 8 when they broke into two dozen cars on Southeast Macarthur Boulevard. “They took prescription sunglasses, anything that was loose in the cars. They took a radar detector, a little electronic device,” Snyder said. Deep Dive: WPBF 25 News Investigates Investigators saw a motorcycle on a victim’s ring camera and then tracked down the plate and found the suspects who they say were friends riding a tandem. The duo then used a window smash to gain access to the locked vehicles. “You might come out and find you didn’t lose anything, but you have hundreds of dollars worth of damage to the car. In my experience, that broken glass, you never get it out of the car,” the sheriff said. Some of the cars were parked in private condominium lots like the one at Indian River Plantation, others were in driveways. It’s another reminder to never leave valuables in vehicles. “Even though we had the car windows broken, the general rule is to lock the car anyway,” he said. Nationwide: WPBF 25 News National Coverage So far this year, Martin County has had more than 50 car thefts. The sheriff is warning anyone who thinks about following suit that the penalties will be severe. “Both the juvenile and the adult face 20 felony charges, including using this burglary tool, window smashing, attempted burglary, burglary and grand larceny,” Snyder said. Snyder says the more cases they can document, the bigger the case they can build against the two suspects and deter future incidents like this. Anyone whose car was broken into is asked to contact the sheriff’s department.
After a string of carjackings in Stuart, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said some old police work paid off.
“We identified two suspects, a juvenile and an adult who had committed all those robberies and I have to say it was very hard and dedicated work by our detectives,” he said.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
Sheriff William Snyder said one of those suspects has been identified as 18-year-old Anthony Batista. Deputies say he had a 14-year-old accomplice on the night of March 7 into the morning of March 8 when they broke into two dozen cars on Southeast Macarthur Boulevard.
“They took prescription sunglasses, anything that was loose in the cars. They took a radar detector, a little electronic device,” Snyder said.
Deep dive: WPBF News Investigations 25
Investigators spotted a motorcycle on the ring camera of one of the victims and then traced the plate and found the suspects who they say were friends riding a tandem. The duo then used a window smash to gain access to the locked vehicles.
“You might come out and find you didn’t lose anything, but you have hundreds of dollars worth of damage to the car. In my experience, that broken glass, you never get it out of the car,” the sheriff said.
Some of the cars were parked in private condominium lots like the one at Indian River Plantation, others were in driveways. It’s another reminder to never leave valuables in vehicles.
“Even though we had the car windows broken, the general rule is to lock the car anyway,” he said.
Across the country: National coverage from WPBF 25 News
So far this year, Martin County has had more than 50 car thefts. The sheriff is warning anyone who thinks about following suit that the penalties will be severe.
“Both the juvenile and the adult face 20 felony charges, including using this burglary tool, window smashing, attempted burglary, burglary and grand larceny,” Snyder said.
Snyder says the more cases they can document, the bigger the case they can build against the two suspects and deter future incidents like this. Anyone whose car was broken into is asked to contact the sheriff’s department.
