GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An 18-year-old man is facing nearly 20 charges after an anonymous tip helped police solve a string of car burglaries near the University of Florida campus, according to the Gainesville Police Department.
Tavarus Smith is charged with eight counts of vehicle burglary, six counts of petit theft, two counts of dealing in stolen property and one count each of armed burglary, grand theft and theft of a firearm.
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According to police, five vehicle burglaries were reported May 5 in the area north of the UF campus along NW 6th-9th avenues and 17th-19th streets.
Eight more vehicle burglaries were reported Monday in the area of NW 25th Terrace and NW 12th Avenue north to NW 18th Way.
An anonymous tip was forwarded Monday to GPD’s Special Operations Unit, saying that someone had purchased a stolen i-Pod from Smith online. The i-Pod had been taken in the spree of burglaries on May 5, police said.
A Gainesville detective contacted Smith on Facebook and inquired about purchasing another i-Pod Smith had posted. Smith agreed to sell the i-Pod and agreed to meet in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Smith arrived and was quickly taken into custody by unit members.
In Smith’s possession were an i-Pod touch, a Garmin GPS and a Casio watch in a backpack, along with gloves, police said.
The i-Pod touch was discovered to be stolen from one of the burglaries reported Monday. Also stolen in the burglary was a Glock 26 handgun.
When police searched Smith’s room, they found the stolen Glock 26 under his bed.
They also found a phone taken in one of the reported burglaries.
More charges are expected as the investigation progresses, police said.
“This shows exactly how important anonymous information can be to solving a case,” GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said. “Excellent job by GPD's Special Operations Unit on clearing that many burglary cases with one arrest.”