Jewelry thieves suspected of stealing from at least 16 homes in South Tampa were nearly caught in the act Wednesday while they were ransacking a home on West San Jose Street.
Two men had pried open the back door of the house and were inside stuffing jewelry and personal items into pillow cases when, at 3:30 p.m., the owner came home.
The thieves dropped the stolen items and ran off toward Westshore Boulevard, likely catching up with the black, newer model Jeep Renegade that was seen dropping them off before the break-in.
Some of the situation was caught on the home's surveillance camera.
Detectives say the thieves have stolen several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry so far this year, and they've primarily targeted jewelry.
One of the thieves is a white man, who was 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 is, as police describe him, a "well-dressed Hispanic" man, around 25 to 35 years of age, 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, and seen wearing a white button down shirt and dark jeans.
This isn't the first time the second suspect has been captured on a surveillance camera so far this year.
ABC Action News first reported on his actions during a burglary spree between March 26 and April 11 in which at least eight homes were burglarized, nearly all taking place during the day.
One of the victims caught the thief on surveillance camera, and talked to ABC Action News at the time about what happened.
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 suspects.
Anyone with any information regarding their identity and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-873-8477, 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.
