PASCO COUNTY, Fla. -- Three different businesses all within a 2-mile radius of each other were hit by burglars Thursday evening.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said a total of five vehicles in the parking lots were hit. Of the five cars targeted, only one was unlocked. Three others had their windows broken, and one other had damage to their window from an unsuccessful forced entry.
The unidentified suspects took purses filled with credit cards and cash along with other items of value.
“We got some pictures,” Brent Gwinn said.
Gwinn is the manager of Suncoast Gymnastics Academy. Surveillance cameras captured the black Chevrolet Silverado speeding off from their parking lot after stealing a customer’s purse.
“Someone zoomed-in backed up into basically behind a car we had here,” Gwinn said. “It looked like a passenger door opened up, and someone ran out real quick. It was about a minute, we saw they got back into the car shut their doors, and they were off.”
VIP Karate on Merchant Avenue along with Orange Theory Fitness on SR 54 were also targeted. Gwinn said the criminals knew they had a window of opportunity while people were inside exercising or watching their children at the gymnastics studio to strike.
“It almost seemed like they did know that nobody was going to be coming out because there were kids in classes,” Gwinn said.
The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information to call 1-800-706-2488 and reference case numbers #19-030735, #19-030739, and #19-030748.
