PINECREST, Fla. — Three men were arrested in connection with a string of smash-and-grab vehicle burglaries in Pinecrest, police said.
According to arrest reports, officers identified the suspects as Terrance Beron Sills, 22, Jayden Cereus, 18, both of Fort Lauderdale, and Kevin Peeples, 18, of Miami.
Police said officers were on patrol around 11:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a be-on-the lookout alert for a gray Honda Accord that had been linked to multiple smash-and-grab burglaries in Pinecrest and repeatedly detected by automated license plate reader cameras throughout the village.
According to the reports, an officer spotted the vehicle near Southwest 122nd Street and Southwest 67th Avenue.
Investigators said the driver was wearing a black ski mask over the lower half of his face before pulling it down. They also confirmed that the driver, Cereus, turned off the car’s headlights and began reversing after noticing a marked police vehicle.
Officers said they stopped the Honda and detained all three occupants without incident.
According to the reports, officers found three automotive window punch tools, multiple pairs of gloves and black ski masks in plain view inside the car. Police said the tools are commonly used to quickly shatter vehicle windows during burglaries.
After being advised of their Miranda rights, the three suspects gave conflicting explanations about why they were in Pinecrest, according to the reports.
Police said Peeples told investigators the group was “staying at a hotel far from here,” and were looking for an Airbnb to rent in Pinecrest, but officers later contacted the homeowner at the address on his phone, who said they were not expecting anyone and did not know the suspects.
According to the reports, Sills, who told officers the Honda belonged to him, admitted the window punch tools were his but claimed he kept them in case he locked his keys inside the car.
Police said Sills also stated the group had driven from Fort Lauderdale “to look for cars” before refusing to answer additional questions.
Investigators said Cereus told officers the group had been driving around Pinecrest for about 30 minutes but also claimed the hotel where they were staying was about an hour away.
They said based on the car’s connection to previous burglaries, repeated license plate reader alerts, the items recovered from the car and the suspects’ conflicting statements, officers arrested all three men.
Police have not disclosed how many valuables or how much property was stolen in the burglaries linked to the thefts.
Jail records show Sills, Cereus and Peeples each face one count of possession of burglary tools and one count of loitering or prowling.
As of Friday, all three suspects are being held on a $5,100 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
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