Hernandez being held without bond in county jail
On Monday, June 22, a 24-year-old Miami man who is a native of Cuba was arrested by the Sarasota Police Department on a felony count of Possession of Burglary Tools with Intent to Use, the agency announced this week.
Hector Lazaro Hernandez, of 15320 SW 81st Lane in Miami, is being held without bond in the Sarasota County Jail, his Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office booking record shows.
He also was cited for unknowingly driving with a suspended license, the Police Department reports.
Personnel working in the agency’s Real-Time Operations Center (ROC) had learned that a 2024 Mercedes-Benz being sought by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office was traveling through the city of Sarasota on June 22, a news release explains. About 9:40 a.m. that day, a Patrol Division officer spotted the vehicle, the release adds.
The Probable Cause Affidavit for Hernandez says that after the officer alerted SPD personnel that he was following the vehicle southbound on South Washington Boulevard in Sarasota, “[m]ultiple [Police Department] units converged [on] the area …”
Following his stopping the Mercedes near the intersection of Orange Avenue and Ringling Boulevard in downtown Sarasota, the release says that the Patrol Division officer learned that Hernandez was wanted on a Brevard County warrant “in connection with multiple burglaries committed while masked,” including one incident that was reported at 4 a.m. that day.
“The suspect was captured on video wearing a black hoodie, black mask, black gloves, camouflage pants and dark sneakers with white soles,” the news release notes. The arresting officers “found all of those items in the trunk and glove box of the Mercedes-Benz,” the release adds.
Further, the Probable Cause Affidavit says, a search found a yellow Ryobi drill and battery located within a [carry-on] bag in the Mercedes.” The video referenced above showed Hernandez with a drill and battery that appeared to be the ones in the vehicle, the affidavit points out.
During questioning of Hernandez regarding his employment history — after he was read his Miranda Rights, the affidavit notes — Hernandez said “he is not only co-owner of an antique store but also a licensed [handyman].”
The traffic citation that the officer issued Hernandez for driving without a valid license carries a $166 penalty, that form shows.
“The Real-Time Operations Center [ROC] is a multiplier for our officers,” Chief Rex Troche said in the release. “ROC analysts can provide real-time intelligence and support for our officers in the field,” he explained. “In this case,” Troche noted, “the ROC was able to quickly assist Patrol in locating and arresting this burglary suspect, preventing him from potentially committing crimes our community.”
A Sarasota News Leader check of records maintained by the Office of the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court and County Comptroller found prior charges against Hernandez in that jurisdiction: In August 2020, he was charged with felony counts of Carrying a Concealed Firearm, as well as Burglary with Explosives or Firearm; in late November 2020, he was charged with possession of cocaine and Grand Theft of a vehicle.
The News Leader was unable to view any of the documents related to those cases.