Men Accused In String Of Burglaries In Broward County
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POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) -- Two men are under arrest, accused of burglarizing homes and cars in Broward.
Broward detectives said the two are part of a gang that's been on a month-long crime spree. Investigators said the two traveled from Miami to commit the break ins in Broward.
Jean Das and Anton Brown appeared before a judge on Friday after Broward Sheriff's deputies arrested them the day before.
Broward Detective Javier Duran, part of the special unit that tracked the suspects, said detectives watched them break into service trucks.
"While conducting surveillance, we caught them red-handed, breaking into these vehicles and taking plumbing equipment," Duran said.
According to their arrest report, the surveillance team noticed the men drive into a parking lot at 2800 N Palm Aire Drive and drive out two minutes later. Deputies said they later found a blue Chevy work van that had its rear doors lock punched and had been burglarized.
Deputies said they continued following them as they pulled into another parking lot at 2240 N Cypress Bend Drive and park next to another work van which was burglarized.
Once they left that parking lot, authorities said they followed them a bit more before arresting the two men.
Durand said when investigators searched the suspects' vehicle, a large white van, they found the loot from the two burglaries they observed being committed, but also a lot more expensive equipment. The stolen items were valued at over $3,000.
"These guys were targeting plumbers' and other types of work vans," Duran said. "So if you're missing equipment, there's a chance that these guys could be related."
Deputies believe the two men may have been involved in another break-in that happened in mid-May in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea in which plumbing tools were also stolen from a work truck.
Investigators also believe they may have struck in Sunrise, Pompano Beach, Deerfield, Oakland Park, Weston, Coral Springs and Davie.
Both men have a long history of arrests for car theft, burglary, identity theft, among other things.
