FELLSMERE — The man believed to be involved in a string of car burglaries in Fellsmere last month has been identified and arrested.
Jesse Rey Cerda, 19, of 14425 101st St., Fellsmere, was served with warrants related to one particular auto burglary. He faces charges that include burglary of a conveyance, third degree grand theft, and dealing in stolen property.
While investigators were able to tie him to one burglary, authorities continue to work to connect him to nine others that occurred overnight on Oct. 9 and 10. Those vehicles were located primarily on N. Bay and N. Elm streets. Each was unlocked and various items were removed.
The burglary that Fellsmere Police believe Cerda committed happened overnight between Oct. 8 and 9 in the 160 block of N. Oleander. A grinding tool and hammer drill were removed from a parked pick-up truck.
The tools were later recovered at a pawn shop and fingerprint analysis of the thumbprint provided on the pawn slip matched Cerda’s, police said.
Prior to finding the tools at a pawn shop, Cerda was arrested on Oct. 17 for a different auto burglary in the 14200 block of 97th Street, which had officers from both Fellsmere Police and Indian River County Sheriff’s agencies involved. After a search, Cerda was located and found to be in possession of items that belonged to the burglary victim, Fellsmere Police said.
The other nine auto burglaries remain under investigation, according to Fellsmere Police, though Cerda is the primary suspect. Police noted that no auto burglaries have been reported in the area since Cerda’s Oct. 17 arrest.
Anyone with information regarding the burglaries is asked to contact the Fellsmere Police Department at 772-571-1360.
