Burglary victim number 15 of 16 says enough is enough and that no one in South Tampa is safe until a crew of serial burglars is captured.
Tampa Police Department detectives are asking for help to identify two suspects that broke into the residence at 4715 San Jose Street West in Tampa on Tuesday.
"I wish I would've got my hands on the guy, to be honest with you," Todd Bodnar said.
Bodnar walked in on the burglary in progress Tuesday afternoon. He said he called out to his wife, then heard the burglars running out of the French doors they broke into about 20 minutes earlier.
"If I would've went through the front door, I would've walked in face to face with them," Bodnar said. "My wife is terrified. You are supposed to come home from work and feel safe, and unfortunately, she doesn't feel safe now. Hopefully, they'll catch these guys. I don't want it to happen to anyone else I don't want anyone else to feel the way my wife feels right now."
At approximately 3:30 p.m., an unknown white male and unknown Hispanic male pried open a rear door and spent time ransacking the residence, going room to room to select personal items and jewelry. As the home owner arrived, the suspects dropped the pillowcases containing the items, according to police.
Surveillance video shows the suspects being dropped off by a black, newer-model Jeep Renegade being driven by a third unknown subject. The vehicle was seen circling the area until the suspects fled the residence on foot toward Westshore Boulevard.
Detectives believe that the suspects are responsible for at least sixteen residential burglaries in the South Tampa area since March 26, 2016. In most cases, the primary target has been jewelry, and to date, several hundred thousand dollars worth has been stolen.
The white male suspect wearing a black ball cap with red writing, dark colored t-shirt and dark pants was captured on surveillance video ringing the door bell while wearing a blue latex glove on his finger.
The second suspect was a "well dressed" Hispanic male, 25-35 years old, 5'08" to 6'0", 170 lbs. and seen wearing a white button down shirt and dark jeans.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the unknown suspects involved in these cases.
Anyone with any information regarding the identity of the suspects and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online at www.crimestopperstb.com or send a mobile tip using the P3 Tips Mobile application. Crime Stoppers must be contacted first in order to be eligible for a cash reward.
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