Local

Police: 3 arrested in downtown Orlando cellphone thefts

ORLANDO, Fla. — Investigators with the Orlando Police Department have arrested three people who are accused of stealing cellphones at businesses in downtown Orlando, police said.

Eyewitness News has been reporting about the cellphone thefts for months.

Detective Nick Collins was conducting a follow-up investigation Friday and Saturday about the possible suspects when he received information that 15 to 20 cellphones were stolen from people at The Attic at 62 E. Pine St., police said.

Officers pulled over a vehicle in the area and found 17 cellphones in the vehicle. The cellphones' SIM cards were removed and they were in airplane mode, police said.

Adrian Gutierrez, 27, of Miami, Josue Acosta, 28, and Lucio Alain Rodriguez, 43, were arrested. All three face charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and possession of burglary tools.

All three men moved swiftly to steal the phones, police said.

"It (surveillance video) basically showed somebody dancing on a dance floor and (the suspect) appeared to be reaching between two other people dancing and taking a phone," said Collins.

Police said they have been working a special detail in downtown Orlando because of an organized group targeting women to steal their phones at bars and clubs.

Police believe Gutierrez was responsible for a theft at Saddle Up bar, but they couldn't find the stolen phone on him, police said.

"He didn't have a phone. So we weren't able to make an arrest, but we did trespass him and that's how we identified him, and then he was trespassed at a second location that we had phone thefts," Collins said.

Police said they saw Acosta with several different cellphones in his hands before his arrest while he was talking to four people.

Police said the thieves spent the past year hitting downtown bars and clubs. It's unclear how many phones have been taken.

More arrests could be made, investigators said.

"If they come back to Orlando, then we'll arrest them in Orlando," Collins said.

Channel 9's Mike Manzoni is following this developing story. Follow him on Twitter for updates.