TITUSVILLE, Fla. — An alert Titusville family helped catch burglars at their neighbor's house. The family knew their neighbors were on vacation and told WFTV they became suspicious when they saw a strange car in the driveway.
Bruce and Lindsay Deshetler were inside their home when they heard a loud bang next door. Titusville police think that was the sound of three people breaking in through the backdoor of a home on Wendy Lee Drive (see map).
"My wife asked me if they were home from vacation. I said, ‘Well, I don't recognize that car.' And then we saw two guys walking out wearing latex gloves," neighbor Bruce Deshelter said.
Investigators said the three suspects cased the home and knew the homeowners were out of town on vacation. The burglary happened in the middle of the day.
The suspects were in and out in a matter of minutes. Several neighbors called 911 and some took matters into their own hands.
"Started chasing the two guys down the road and I was on the phone with the cops trying to tell them where the car went," Deshetler said.
Police in the area spotted the suspects' car just a few blocks away at the Timber Trace Apartments.
"The trunk was open. It was a large home safe sticking out of the trunk. The safe was so large it couldn't even close the trunk, so our detectives were confident it was the suspects' vehicle," said Todd Hutchinson, Titusville police.
In addition to the large safe, detectives also recovered two flat screen TVs.
The woman allegedly driving the car, 18-year-old Alexandria Marie Gray, and two other suspects, 20-year-old Christopher Pierce and 20-year-old David Richardson were arrested and charged with burglary and grand theft. They were all booked into the Brevard County jail.
There are ways to protect your home while on vacation. Some cities, like Titusville, have vacation watch programs where police will check on your house while you're out of town.
WFTV
