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Trio May Be Behind 100-Plus Burglaries, Deputies Say

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Pasco County deputies say three men could be responsible for as many as 150 auto burglaries from April through August in this growing central county community.

Part of the trio, John Wayne Worrell Jr., has been sitting in jail since August on related charges while deputies have been looking for two brothers who authorities say are co-conspirators.

Acting on a tip from Pasco investigators, Hillsborough County deputies arrested brothers Michael Daryl and Adam Christopher Edwards, both of 10050 Joe Ebert Road, Seffner, last week.

The men were nabbed when they went to pick up their paychecks from a travel company on Florida Avenue in Tampa. They were booked into Orient Road Jail on the warrants and transferred Tuesday to Pasco to face the charges there.

Michael Edwards, 19, is being held on 10 counts of auto burglary, five counts of grand theft and one count each of burglary and armed burglary. His bail is set at $115,000.

Adam Edwards, 21, is being held on five counts of auto burglary, four counts of grand theft and one count of burglary. His bail is set at $55,000.

The brothers spent much of Tuesday evening driving around Wesley Chapel subdivisions with detectives, trying to point out where they broke into cars, Pasco sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.

"Every couple of weeks they would come up and target these subdivisions," he said. "It was to fuel a drug habit."

Michael Edwards dropped his wallet at the scene of one of the burglaries, according to a witness affidavit. He and his brother later were seen using a stolen $100 bill at a gas station, and their images were captured by surveillance video, the affidavit states. Employees at the gas station saw the two men enter a restroom and toss several pieces of stolen identification and credit cards.

In most of the cases, owners had left their vehicles unlocked, making them easy targets, Tobin said.

Cash – mostly small amounts – and electronics were taken from several of the vehicles.

"It seems like a lot of work for not a big reward," Tobin said.

Worrell, 27, of 37537 Waverly Ave., Zephyrhills, is being held on charges of burglary, armed burglary and grand theft. Bail is set at $180,000.

The investigation into the burglaries continues.

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