Accused Baby On Board Burglars Nabbed By BSO
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POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) -- A group of 6 people is accused of breaking into cars in Pompano Beach early Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, that's not uncommon in South Florida.
What is uncommon however is who was with the group — a 1-year-old child.
According to arrest reports provided by the Broward Sheriff's Office the group wanted to come up with some quick cash to bond a friend out of jail. Their solution was to break into cars.
Surveillance video from the Broward Sheriff's office shows the suspected thieves rifling through a car outside a Pompano Beach home. The man who owns that car said his surveillance cameras captured the suspects in action although they apparently didn't find anything they liked in his vehicle.
"Doesn't feel good the next morning when you're watching the video and you see somebody on your property trying to take something from you," said Hugo. He declined to provide his last name.
BSO says they caught up with the group after an alert witness reported them and they were surprised a young child was in the car.
"When the child should have been tucked in bed and asleep instead this child was riding around Pompano Beach and possibly other areas with a crew of burglars," said BSO Spokesperson Joy Oglesby.
One after the other the suspects made their way before a judge Wednesday morning. It's not entirely clear who the mother of the child is but there are some clues. An attorney for suspect Latasha Dupree said his client is a single mother of a one year old whose child is now in state custody.
"She lives with her one year old," the attorney said. "Right now her 1-year-old due to this incident is in DCF custody."
Arrest reports say Dupree had a 1-year-old with her during the crimes. The reports also say that the members of the group knew the child was in the car when they committed the crimes. Each is charged not only with burglary but contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Charged are: Christopher Aubourg, Merith Cordero, Dupree, Elijah Godson and Unique Quince.
Quince's mother spoke in court on Wednesday, describing her daughter as a good kid who has a job and sings in the church choir.
"She just made some wrong choices and I'm just begging for mercy for her," the mother said.
The judge gave each of the suspects a bond and investigators say they should be grateful nothing happened to that child.
"There could have been a number of things that happened — they could have gotten into a chase, been in a crash, there could have been someone protecting their property and have more grave results than it did," Ogelsby said.
Oglesby also said it was the alert tip from a witness that helped catch the suspects.
"Its really great that someone in the community recognized that something was amiss and they didn't the right thing and we cannot stress enough, see something, say something," she said.
