Sarah Young charged also with credit card fraud
A 20-year-old Sarasota woman has been charged in connection with vehicle burglaries on Siesta Key and alleged credit card fraud, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has reported.
Sarah A. Young of 3616 Teal Ave. was arrested on Sept. 19, a news release says.
The investigation began on July 17, the release notes, when the first victim reported his credit card had been stolen from his unlocked vehicle in the 4800 block of Higel Avenue. An online purchase costing $176.42 allegedly was made with the card at 4:06 a.m. on July 17, just hours after the burglary occurred, the Sheriff’s Office report on the case points out. A package subsequently was delivered to a Tangerine Drive address in Sarasota, the report notes.
On Aug. 8, a second victim reported his credit card stolen from his vehicle in the 5200 block of Siesta Cove Drive, the news release adds. That card allegedly was used to make a purchase that also was delivered to the Tangerine Drive address, the release notes. The Tangerine Drive house is on a corner lot at the intersection with Shade Avenue, according to a map provided by the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office.
“Detectives quickly gathered surveillance video from a nearby residence,” which showed a female suspect going through vehicles at the second victim’s home, the news release says.
After detectives obtained subscriber information for the internet account associated with the Tangerine Drive home, the release says, detectives identified Young “as the suspect who made the online purchases.” She also appeared to be the person in the images pulled from the surveillance video, the release adds.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Tangerine Drive address, the Sheriff’s Office report points out. That led to interviews with the homeowners, the report adds, with the detectives learning that Young had been living in the house and working at the Tasty Home Cookin restaurant in Tuttle Bee Plaza on South Tuttle Avenue in Sarasota.
The report says that one of the homeowners told the detectives he has two sons, and Young is the girlfriend of one of them.
On Sept. 8, detectives interviewed Young, “who admitted to countless vehicle burglaries on Siesta Key,” as well as the fraudulent credit card use, the release adds. When the detectives accompanied her to the Tangerine Drive address, the report says, she “pointed to several areas of the house where she had hidden stolen items.”
Detectives seized numerous items from the house and from her car, the report adds. “It took approximately 5 hours to sort and inventory the recovered items,” the report continues. “Further victims have yet to be identified,” it notes, although detectives believe they are in the process of resolving “multiple cases.”
Young was charged with two counts of Burglary and two counts of Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information. She was released on $6,000 bond, the news release notes.