The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office charged three Pennsylvania men after they burglarized a local business, crashed a vehicle, and hid from deputies in a canal.

 

Deputies were initially alerted to a burglary in progress early Monday morning in the 5600 block of Derek Avenue in Sarasota. The business owner dialed 911 after watching two suspects enter the property on live security cameras. When deputies arrived, the suspects entered a vehicle and fled westbound along Clark Road at a high rate of speed. Deputies pursued the suspects until they eventually crashed near the intersection of Lockwood Ridge and Bee Ridge Roads. The suspects all fled on foot while deputies established a perimeter. Members of the agency’s Aviation Unit with support from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, located the three men hiding in a canal in a residential area along Pinecrest Street.

 

Investigation revealed the three Pennsylvania men stole 14 catalytic converters from seven vehicles parked on the business’s property. The total estimated value of the equipment is more than $11,000. All three suspects were taken into custody, two of which were transported for possible hypothermia. They have since been released and booked in the county’s correctional facility.

David Albino, DOB 10/19/89, is charged with Burglary, Grand Theft, and Resisting an Officer without Violence.

Robert Dejesus, DOB 12/17/99, is also charged with Burglary, Grand Theft, and Resisting an Officer without Violence. He was also charged on an outstanding warrant from the Department of Juvenile Justice for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

Juan Carlos Santos Jr., DOB 11/03/00, is charged with Burglary, Grand Theft, Fleeing to Elude, and Resisting an Officer without Violence. Santos was also charged on several outstanding warrants issued by the Sarasota Police Department including four counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle without a License, two counts of Fleeing to Elude, and a single count of Failure to Register a Motor Vehicle. Santos has local arrests dating back to 2014.

All three men remain in custody today.

Video from the agency's Aviation Unit can be viewed by following this link.