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4 Arrested In Largo Car Burglaries

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 15, 2008

LARGO -- With the help of police dogs, Pinellas County sheriff's deputies arrested four teenagers in a string of car burglaries Monday night and early today in Largo.

Deputies first responded to 8799 92nd St. after a resident reported two men in dark clothing burglarizing a vehicle in a driveway across the street. Once at the scene, deputies cordoned off an area and a corporal used his dog, K-9 Kosmo, to pick up a scent.

In the meantime, someone else called 911 to report that his vehicle had been burglarized and that he had chased the subjects, described as two men in dark clothing, said Pinellas sheriff's spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda.

K-9 Kosmo continued to track the suspects from the original location for several blocks through the neighborhood to 88th Terrace and 94th Street, where he located a bag of stolen property, Barreda said.

From there, a second deputy with a different dog – this one's K-9 Koda - picked up the track and located a stolen wallet under a vehicle on 94th Street, Barreda said. Koda continued sniffing the ground and located an iPod.

The dog eventually found two suspects, Michael Sipos, 18, and Justin Peace, 16, both of Largo, hiding behind bushes in a backyard at 8946 93rd St., Barreda said. They were arrested.

Sipos was charged with five counts of burglary to a conveyance, and Peace with four counts of burglary to a conveyance burglary, plus one count of possession of burglary tools. Both admitted to the burglaries, Barreda said.

The stolen items recovered included GPS units, a digital camera, an iPod, a car CD deck, wallets, cash and loose change.

Sipos was later also charged in a residential burglary that had occurred earlier Monday evening at 8455 92nd Terrace. The investigation led detectives to arrest a third suspect. Bruyni Diaz, 18, of Largo, in connection with the residential burglary. He was also charged with breaking into a conveyance.

Burglary detectives later arrested a fourth suspect in the burglaries, Joshua D. Peace, 18, who is Justin's brother. He admitted to participating in the vehicle burglaries as well as the residential burglary, detectives said.

The burglaries occurred in a residential neighborhood in the area of Starkey Road and 94th Avenue in Largo.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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