NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — New Smyrna Beach police may have finally caught their serial burglars.
Eyewitness News reported earlier in February that dozens of vacation homes have been broken into in New Smyrna Beach. Friday, police stopped two suspects in that case and ended up finding a meth lab in an apartment on Sugar Tree Circle. They also found evidence of the burglaries.
There was a TV in the van the suspects were driving. That's exactly what's been disappearing from dozens of homes on the beach. In almost every case, you could find a 'for sale' or 'for rent' sign out front.
Police said a meth lab in an apartment may have been the motivation behind a two-month long spree of beachside vacation home burglaries. Police pulled 298 grams of meth oil out Friday, an unexpected discovery for them and for neighbors.
"We saw the cops show up and didn't know what was going on, but when we saw the guys in the hazmat suits we knew something was definitely wrong then," neighbor David Watson said.
Police went there looking only for stolen electronics. They pulled the van over Friday morning while out investigating more burglaries.
Joseph Bompadre and Dennis Ellis were arrested. Police are now trying to count up the crimes they may be connected to. The city had more than 30 burglaries in January, possibly motivated by drugs.
"I believe it was. There was quite a bit of oil the narcotics investigator took out of there and the individual we arrested is going to be charged in trafficking," said Mike Brouillette, New Smyrna Beach Police.
And police say they may have been starting to branch out to other areas. Nancy Mills, in Volusia County, got home Thursday to find a screen bent off her back window. She lost a Rolex watch, rings and a computer.
"We didn't have a lot, but they got what we did have," Mills said.
Police have charges against four people so far. They say there may be more coming. They are still looking for places where the group might have been storing or selling all the things they stole in the past two months.