Long Records for Suspects Arrested in String of B-Section Burglaries in Palm Coast

Four South Florida men, none older than 20 and all with previous records, have been charged in connection with burglaries on Braddock Lane and Bayside Drive in Palm Coast Monday morning. They may be responsible for others throughout the state.

A search for the men, using Flagler County’s Fire Flight helicopter, and a car crash involving the four men, who were seen leaving the area of a burglary on Serbian Bellflower Trail around 11 a.m, led to their arrest.

Investigators believe the four are part of a burglary ring operating from Savannah south to Deland and west to Tallahassee, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office release. The local sheriff’s office is working with other law enforcement agencies to determine if the four are implicated in other burglaries in their jurisdictions, the release states. A quick analysis of records in other counties indicates they are.

Andre Foster, 19, of 4407 Treehouse Lane, Tamarac, Fla., has been previously arrested three times in Broward County and once in Palm Beach County, most recently in Broward, on March 30, for charges similar to those he faces in Flagler: burglary, and possession of burglary tools. Locally, he faces two counts of principle to an armed robbery and two counts of grand theft of a firearm, all felonies. Bond was set at $401,500.

Christopher Joseph, 20, of 5980 NW 16th Place, Sunrise, Fla., had an outstanding warrant in Broward County, issued on Dec. 15, for violation of probation for a felony burglary. He faces a misdemeanor charge for giving false information during an investigation (he called himself Steve Samson to investigators). He also faces two counts of principle to an armed robbery in the first degree, and two counts of grand theft of a firearm, plus violation of probation. There is no bond.

Nick Roger, 20, of 3102 Enclave Way, Lauderhill, Fla., was arrested once in Broward County, in 2010, on a minor charge: a first offense for driving on a suspended license. He now faces a similar misdemeanor locally (loitering and prowling and driving with a suspended license), plus two counts of principle to an armed robbery and two counts of grand theft of a firearm, all felonies. Bond was set at $203,000.

Sarto Joli, 19, of 9335 NW 46th Street, Sunrise, Fla., has been arrested five times previously–four times in Borward County, once in Palm Beach County, all within the past year. In Flagler, he faces a misdemeanor charge of giving false information (he called himself Jason Petit to investigators), two counts of principle to armed robbery in the first degree, and two counts of grand theft of a firearm. Bond was set at $201,500.

Monday afternoon, the four burglary suspects refused to cooperate with Sheriff’s investigators and as a result, efforts to identify them were delayed.

The charges stem from burglaries at 42 Braddock Lane (a 2,000 square-foot house) and 148 Bayside Drive (a 1,450 square-foot house). In the Braddock Lane burglary, deputies reported a .44 Magnum revolver was stolen–and found in the defendants’ car, which was searched after a search warrant was obtained from Circuit Judge Dennis Craig. Loose change was also recovered. The alleged burglars entered the home by prying open the front door. Unoccupied homes on either side of the house also were burglarized, but no charges have been filed in those incidents. Another gun was reported stolen from one of the homes and it has not yet been recovered.

At the Bayside Drive home, four other firearms were stolen: a black Smith & Wesson .38 Special, a 9mm Kahr Arms PM9, and two .357 magnums.

All of them were recovered by deputies. The burglars gained entry to the unoccupied home by prying open the rear sliding door. The homeowner discovered the burglary when he arrived home at about 10 a.m. Monday.

Deputies located the suspected burglars near Serbian Bellflower Trail around 11 a.m., when a homeowner called in a suspicious vehicle, a Chevrolet Traverse, that had been parked in her drive. She told deputies that someone had repeatedly rang her doorbell and then backed out of her drive. Within minutes, deputies located the vehicle described by the woman and attempted make contact with the occupants. Roger, who was driving the vehicle, tried unsuccessfully to elude law enforcement officers by driving to U.S. 1 where he eventually drove north before turning eastbound onto S.R. 100.

Deputies took the four into custody following the vehicle crash on Old Moody Boulevard in Bunnell, just just off the highway, as the suspects, trying to evade deputies, appeared unfamiliar with the street’s narrowness and sharp curve.