KEY LARGO, Fla. – Two teenagers from Homestead are arrested Wednesday morning after police say they burglarized two dive shops in Key Largo.
The stores that were targeted were Scuba Outlet at the 106 mile marker of U.S. Highway 1 and Sea Dweller's Dive Center at the 99.8 mile marker of U.S. 1.
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Monroe County sheriff's deputies say a deputy was patrolling State Road 905 when he spotted two teenagers outside a yellow Mitsubishi Lancer on the side of the road.
He pulled over to check if everything was alright, and that's when Sgt. Jason Madnick says he saw the suspects pulling tags off new pieces of diver gear and throwing the tags on the ground.
Madnick says the 17-year-old first told him he had just purchased the dive gear for $50. When Madnick revealed to him that dive gear is much more expensive than that, the teen changed his story and said he purchased the items or $450.
Madnick radioed two other officers on duty and discovered there had been two dive shop burglaries in Key Largo. Employees from both stores identified the items as theirs to police.
Inside the car deputies found burglary tools, including tools used to cut fencing, gloves and hand-held radios.
Deputies arrested both teens and identified the 19-year-old as Michel Lalcebo.