Burglary

Former Tavares police officer nabbed on Volusia County burglary, theft charges

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—A former Tavares police officer is being held in the Lake County Jail on $171,000 bond, accused of burglarizing $50,000 worth of jewelry, along with credit and debit cards from a Volusia County home earlier this week.

Theodore “Teddy” Pearl, 28, is accused of stealing numerous pieces of jewelry from a home in DeBary that belonged to the grandparents of a juvenile friend of his, according to a Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) charging affidavit.

VSO responded to the home on River Drive Monday when one of the homeowners reported her home had been burglarized while she and her husband were out of state on vacation. She told the deputy numerous pieces of jewelry were missing, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings and a ring, in addition to a passport, checkbooks, credit cards, a $500 speaker and extra vehicle fobs. The total value of the items is approximately $50,000, the affidavit states.

The victim said she felt the theft was personal. She told the deputy one of her grandsons was watching over the home while she was out of town, and he came to the home to help her look for the stolen items. Her grandson told the deputy that while he was looking, he observed a grey glove being placed over her Ring camera. While the deputy was speaking to him, the victim advised her stepdaughter had found the victim’s checkbooks and a gold pendant in her juvenile son’s room. The deputy noted the juvenile had been arrested for a violation of probation around the time of the burglary.

On Wednesday, a VSO detective received the burglary report and traveled to the Detention Juvenile Justice Center to interview the juvenile. First, the boy said he was unaware of the burglary at his grandmother’s home, but later changed his story and said he and Pearl, a friend of his, were texting back and forth and agreed to meet up. The juvenile told the detective, Pearl “used to be a detective” for a law enforcement agency in the area and provided a Facebook and Instagram account with the name “Tee Juiced Up” for Pearl.

A search of the boy’s phone later revealed the conversation between the pair. An excerpt of the conversation is below.

(Pearl): I want day wholeeee jewelry drawer (racial slur)

(Juvenile) N we gonna get itttt

(Pearl) You 100% know where dat jewelry key is right my (racial slur)?

(Juvenile) Ya

Pearl apparently responds he was ready to get the money, the affidavit states.

(Juvenile) I’m really hoping my grandparents have not gone back home yet and try to get me a small bottle of vodka so I’m not trippin when we do it.

(Pearl) (Expletive) bro if they home it gon (expletive) everything up.

(Pearl) We’d have to try and find cards or get into the truist account of some (expletive.) Why don’t you think they’re home yet?

 

Theodore “Teddy” Pearl was arrested on multiple charges stemming from a Volusia County burglary earlier this week. He was employed as a Tavares police officer for nearly three years before resigning late last year. PHOTO: Tavares Police Department

At 1:19 a.m. Tuesday, Pearl texted the juvenile and stated he’s 10 minutes away and to meet him at the stop sign down the street from the juvenile’s home. Pearl picked the juvenile up in his “burnt orange” Dodge Hellcat and reportedly told the juvenile he wanted to go to the victim’s house to steal items. The juvenile said they went to his grandmother’s home and collected jewelry, checkbooks and other documents from the home. The juvenile said he placed a glove over the ring camera, and he knew Pearl’s intentions were to sell or pawn the items for cash.

The detective ran a search of Pearl’s phone number in a pawn shop database and found two transactions at a Winter Park pawn shop that totaled more than $3,000. Detectives contacted the pawn shop owner who provided video surveillance that showed Pearl in the business and two distinct hand tattoos, one of a skeleton’s jaw on his right hand and a skeleton’s hand on his left. “Tee Juiced Up’s” social media pages did reveal a photo showing both tattoos, the affidavit states.

The pawn shop owner provided detectives with a photocopy of Pearl’s driver license and copies of the transactions that included Pearl’s personal information, including his name, date of birth and address. He listed his place of employment as Tavares PD. Inside Lake reached out to TPD’s public information officer Thursday morning and she confirmed Pearl resigned from TPD late last year on Dec. 27, 2023. The shop owner told detectives Pearl was contacting him with photos of more items he had to sell, and he provided those photos to detectives. The victim confirmed the items belonged to her, according to the affidavit.

Detectives determined there was probable cause for Pearl’s arrest for grand theft more than $20,000, fraud-swindle-obtain property under $20,000, burglary, dealing in stolen property and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was arrested in Lake County Wednesday night and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $171,000 bond.

 

Former Tavares police officer nabbed on Volusia County burglary, theft charges Read More »

File photo

More charges for accused Eustis serial burglar

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Mount Dora / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—The man accused of multiple thefts in Eustis and Mount Dora beginning in October 2023 is now facing more charges, according to Eustis Police Department.

Jordan Makuannen, 19, has been held in the Lake County Jail on no bond since he was arrested earlier this week after Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies worked together and took him into custody after he bailed out of a stolen vehicle near the Lake County/Polk County line.

Makuannen is now facing additional charges related to the stolen Dodge Durango he dumped at Club at Eustis Apartments March 3, including burglary to an occupied dwelling, grand theft from a dwelling, grand theft, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and grand theft auto.

In that case, Makuannen is believed to have climbed through a window of a home on East Atwater Avenue while a resident was asleep; he took electronics, the keys to the Durango and the Durango. This theft was just one day after he was captured on video stealing groceries off the porch of a home on Morin Street and at least the second time he is accused of entering a residence while someone was home.

After EPD officers recovered the stolen Durango, they found groceries that matched items stolen from Morin Street and located items that belong to a Eustis woman and were taken in a separate theft, according to an affidavit.

Makuannen is facing a slew of charges and is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond due to his failure to appear in court for his October 2023 case.

Previous stories: Man arrested last year for multiple thefts in Eustis nabbed by deputies after bailing out of stolen SUV in South Lake early Monday – Inside Lake

Stepdad Turns Stepson in to Police After Finding Evidence of Multiple Burglaries in his Eustis Home Monday – Inside Lake

More charges for accused Eustis serial burglar Read More »

File photo

Jacksonville man accused of stealing SUV from Fruitland Park business and fighting Tavares cops last week

Fruitland Park, Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—A Jacksonville man is being held in the Lake County Jail after being accused of stealing a vehicle from a business in Fruitland Park, fleeing from a Tavares Police Department officer and fighting that officer and another one last week.

Nigel Jaylen Sabb, 28, is accused of stealing a 2014 Ford Edge from Honest Autos, 2381 U.S. Highway 441, Fruitland Park around 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a Fruitland Park Police Department arrest affidavit. A representative of the business told FPPD a customer dropped off the vehicle for some cosmetic repairs and left the keys in the exterior door lock and less than an hour later, Sabb walked onto the lot and stole the SUV.

The SUV, equipped with a GPS tracker, was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 441 and FPPD alerted Tavares Police Department and Eustis Police Department it was headed their way. Just before 9:45 a.m. a TPD officer spotted the vehicle traveling southbound and he performed a U-turn to get a better look at the tag, according to a TPD arrest affidavit.

Sabb began driving recklessly, changing lanes multiple times, failing to yield to oncoming traffic and nearly causing several crashes. TPD attempted to pull Sabb over and he began to swerve across all southbound lanes while moving around in the vehicle.

The TPD officer then deactivated his lights and made a U-turn to show the driver he was not pursuing the SUV, the affidavit states. Sabb then swerved across all three southbound lanes, jumped a median, drove into oncoming traffic and hit a vehicle head-on, according to the affidavit.

The officer reactivated his lights, pulled up to the crash and exited with his gun drawn; Sabb exited the SUV through the front passenger door and fled on foot. He was wearing dark clothing and carrying an object believed to be a backpack. The officer holstered his firearm and drew his taser as he began to chase Sabb. He deployed the taser and it struck Sabb’s clothing but did not incapacitate him and he continued to run. TPD lost Sabb around 2100 Lake Eustis Drive and then spotted him again wearing different clothing and walking near Joy Lane in the Lake Point Mobile Home Park; the officer also noticed he was no longer carrying anything.

The officer began following Sabb as a second officer pulled up as backup. Sabb saw the officer’s patrol vehicle and began running and both officers began chasing him. The first officer took a different route in an attempt to cut Sabb off while the backup officer stayed on Sabb. The backup officer later got on the radio and “in a manner that was partial and unclear…advised that (Sabb) was fighting him. It was apparent (the officer) was involved in a struggle,” the TPD officer wrote in the affidavit.

The officer could not immediately find Sabb and the backup officer and could not reach him on the radio. He finally heard the pair scuffling and located them behind a home on Douglas Drive and saw the backup officer struggling to gain control of Sabb’s hands. The officers were able to get Sabb under control after another scuffle and the threat of being tased. He was medically cleared and transported to the Lake County Jail.

The backup officer later said Sabb either punched him or hit his head on something and took his radio off his vest, depriving him of means to communicate with other officers and dispatch and the officer sustained head injuries as a result of the fight, according to the affidavit. Sabb is facing numerous charges from TPD, including battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, two counts of resisting arrest without violence, depriving an officer of means of communication and reckless driving, in addition to grand theft auto and burglary from FPPD. He is being held on no bond.

Prior history

In June 2017, Sabb was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after he pointed a loaded gun at a JSO officer who pulled him over while driving a stolen car. In 2018, he was arrested in St. Johns County for another 2017 crime, this one committed when he was just 20 years old. In that case, Sabb was accused of tying two men and a woman up during a Ponte Vedre Beach home invasion, forcing the woman to perform oral sex on him at gunpoint, ransacking the home, stealing cash and other belongings and stealing a car. DNA from the sexual battery connected Sabb to the crime. Sabb spent around a year in the St. Johns County Jail until the charges were dropped about month before the case was set to go to trial. It is unknown why the charges were dropped.

Jacksonville man accused of stealing SUV from Fruitland Park business and fighting Tavares cops last week Read More »

File photo

Man arrested last year for multiple thefts in Eustis nabbed by deputies after bailing out of stolen SUV in South Lake early Monday

Clermont, Eustis, Inside Scoop, Mount Dora, Unincorporated Lake / By

CLERMONT, Fla.—A man wanted for failure to appear in court for crimes in 2023 and now suspected of committing recent thefts in Eustis and Mount Dora, was apprehended after a Polk County license plate reader hit on the stolen SUV he was driving early Monday morning.

According to an arrest affidavit, around 4:45 a.m. Monday, the Polk County license plate reader hit on a black Honda SUV that was stolen in Mount Dora and Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) deputies located it traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 27 near U.S 192, approaching the Lake County line. PCSO’s Aviation Unit observed the Honda turn eastbound on Hartwood Marsh Road and then onto Lovers Lane. The vehicle then came to a stop in the 11000 block of Avalon Ridge Way and the driver, later identified as Jordan Makuannen, 19, fled on foot and attempted to hide behind a sand berm at Tarmac- Center Sand Mine.

PCSO’s Aviation Unit watched Makuannen from above while deputies on the ground deployed a PCSO K9 and Makuannen was located and taken into custody. Makuannen refused to identify himself to Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies but when he arrived at the Lake County Jail, jail staff was able to identify him, the affidavit states.

Jordan Makuannen in his October 2023 mugshot, left, and his mugshot taken after his arrest Monday.

Makuannen was already wanted for failure to appear on charges related to an October 2023 case in Eustis. Only Inside Lake reported in 2023 Makuannen’s stepfather turned him in after finding numerous identification cards in his home on East Atwater Avenue. Officers responded to the home and collected the cards that matched up to several victims of burglaries of both homes and vehicles in the area, some nearly two months old. The victims reported numerous items stolen, including guns, wallets, purses, electronics, cash and credit cards. Sixteen vehicle burglaries were reported during October 2023 and at least eight of them are within one half of a mile of the home on East Atwater Avenue, according to an affidavit in that case. In one incident, Makuannen is suspected of stealing a woman’s purse after entering her home on Blackberry Court, armed with a knife, while the victim was home.

EPD began watching Makuannen’s home on East Atwater Avenue in October and when he returned, officers knocked on the door and he fled from the back porch; he was taken into custody a few blocks away in the parking lot of a business on South Bay Street. He was arrested for eight charges, including armed burglary and grand theft and locked up on $65,000 bond. According to Lake County Clerk of Court online records, on Dec. 6, 2023, Makuannen’s public defender filed a motion to release him on his own recognizance because more than 30 days had passed since his arrest, and he had not been formally charged. About a week later, Circuit Judge Cary Rada granted the motion on the majority of his charges, reducing his bond to $16,000 and he bonded out Dec. 23, 2023. He failed to appear at subsequent court dates following his release, according to online records.

Eustis Police Department officers are seen here in October 2023 after apprehending burglary suspect Jordan Makuannen who fled from them. PHOTO:
Shannon Cook/Special to Inside Lake

On March 1, Makuannen was captured on surveillance video stealing a grocery order off of a porch on Morin Street in Eustis. In that incident, Makuannen is seen wearing tan pants and black slides as he takes several bags of groceries around 6 p.m. and again around five minutes later when he returns for a case of water.

Two days later, on March 3, LCSO attempted to pull over a Dodge Durango that had been stolen from a home on East Atwater Avenue—the same street Makuannen lives on and one of the vehicles he is suspected of burglarizing in October 2023.

The Durango fled and was later found abandoned at Club at Eustis Apartments behind Publix on David Walker Drive. Officers searched the Durango and found several grocery bags and items that matched what was stolen from the home on Morin Street.

Video surveillance captured Makuannen running through the apartment complex wearing the same black slides he was wearing when he stole the groceries two days prior, and another video showed Makuannen removing his black slides and leaving them on a staircase. EPD officers found the slides and collected them as evidence, but they did not find Makuannen.

After identifying Makuannen as the suspect in the grocery grab, EPD detectives secured a warrant for Makuannen’s arrest, as the court issued a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear. Makuannen apparently cut his hair, and stayed under the radar until he was apprehended Monday. He could be facing more charges in cases that are still under investigation, EPD Chief Craig Capri said.

He is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.

Previous story: Stepdad Turns Stepson in to Police After Finding Evidence of Multiple Burglaries in his Eustis Home Monday – Inside Lake

Man arrested last year for multiple thefts in Eustis nabbed by deputies after bailing out of stolen SUV in South Lake early Monday Read More »

Mount Dora Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the man seen here. PHOTO: Mount Dora Police Department

Mount Dora Police Seeking Public’s Help with Identifying Suspected Burglar

Inside Scoop, Mount Dora / By

MOUNT DORA, Fla.—Mount Dora Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance with identifying a man who is suspected of prowling and committing burglaries on the west side of the city and he may have been armed, according to a social media post.

A homeowner who lives near Crestview Drive and Normandy Drive told Inside Lake he awoke to the sound of several gunshots and a heavy police presence overnight Thursday and some of his neighbors captured the man on video surveillance. The homeowner said his home and vehicles were not burglarized but the gunshots sounded very close to his home.

MDPD released a photo of the suspect Friday and are asking anyone who can identify him to call them at 352-735-7130 or email  [email protected]

Mount Dora Police Seeking Public’s Help with Identifying Suspected Burglar Read More »

Eustis Police Department officers stand in the parking lot of Rocky's Pawn Shop on South Bay Street after apprehending a burglary suspect who fled from them Monday afternoon. PHOTO: Shannon Cook/Special to Inside Lake

Stepdad Turns Stepson in to Police After Finding Evidence of Multiple Burglaries in his Eustis Home Monday

Eustis, Inside Scoop / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—A teenager who was keeping his loot from multiple burglaries in his stepfather’s Eustis home is being held in the Lake County Jail on $65,000 bond after being captured by Eustis Police Department officers Monday afternoon.

Jordan Blair Makuannen’s stepfather contacted EPD Monday and said he found numerous identification cards belonging to different people on his back porch where Makuannen was staying, according to an arrest affidavit.

Officer responded to the home on East Atwater Avenue and collected the cards that matched up to several victims of recent burglaries of both homes and vehicles in the area, some as far back as Sept. 10. The victims reported numerous items stolen, including guns, wallets, purses, electronics, cash and credit cards. Sixteen vehicle burglaries were reported just during the month of October and at least eight of them are within one half of a mile of the home on East Atwater Avenue, the affidavit states. In one incident, Makuannen, 19, is suspected of stealing a woman’s purse after entering a home on Blackberry Court, armed with a knife, while the victim was home.

EPD officers were watching the East Atwater Avenue home Monday when Makuannen returned with a green backpack and entered the rear of the home. Officers knocked on the front door and Makuannen fled the residence from the back porch. Officers ordered him to stop, and he continued to flee until officers apprehended him near Rocky’s Pawn Shop, 1111 South Bay Street, around 4:15 p.m.

Makuannen was transported to Eustis Police Department for processing and later booked into the Lake County Jail on several charges, including armed burglary, burglary, grand theft, two counts of burglary from a dwelling, grand theft from a dwelling and resisting arrest; more charges are possible, EPD Chief Craig Capri said.

Stepdad Turns Stepson in to Police After Finding Evidence of Multiple Burglaries in his Eustis Home Monday Read More »

Scroll to Top