ORLANDO, Fla. — Two alleged bumbling burglars were arrested in Polk County over the weekend after one suspect dialed 911 intending to ask for help moving stolen goods and a ride to Orlando International Airport.
Deputies initially responded to a burglary call at a Dollar General in Poinciana at 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, where “multiple items were stolen,” according to a post on the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Deputies reviewed Dollar General’s video surveillance tapes and recognized one of the suspects whom they identified as Martin Gonzalez-Garcia. Police searched the area for Gonzalez-Garcia, 23, but could not locate him.
Later that same day, Polk County 911 received an emergency call from a private residence but nobody responded when the dispatcher spoke.
Deputies arrived at the home to do a welfare check but realized the house was empty. However, they found Gonzalez-Garcia and Gonzalez-Garcia’s girlfriend, Ashializ Roldan-Oscacio, 22, neither of whom had “ties to the house,” according to authorities.
Gonzalez-Garcia was arrested for allegedly burgling the Dollar General and the residence. Roldan-Oscacio was also charged with burglary of the residence.
“And then came Liz’s surprising admission … ,” the sheriff’s office wrote in its Facebook post, referring to Roldan-Oscacio.
“She said she called 911 for the purpose of having law enforcement assist her and (Gonzalez-Garcia) with moving their belongings from the house (the one they were burglarizing), and they were trying to get a ride to the airport, because they wanted to go to New York for the weekend,” authorities alleged.
“Deputies DID help them with their belongings, and DID give them a ride, but it wasn’t to the airport. It was to the Polk Pokey. And they are welcome to stay there all weekend long. The Polk Pokey is much better than New York anyway,” the sheriff’s office wrote in its Facebook post.
Gonzalez-Garcia allegedly told authorities “he did commit the burglary at the Dollar General because he needed to get items to sell it to make money,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Gonzalez-Garcia also “stated he knew what he did was wrong, but needed the money (and) stated he knew the residence was not his and did not have permission to be in, but had to get inside to get out of the cold.”
Central Florida experienced freezing temperatures over Christmas weekend. The high was 75 degrees on Dec. 31, with a low of 65 degrees.
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