PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A search is underway for a man caught on camera taking nearly $1,800 worth of belongings from an unlocked car in Ponte Vedra Beach, authorities said.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, a 61-year-old man reported that between the evening of May 11 and the morning of May 12, a man burglarized a vehicle at his residence on L’Atrium Circle North.
A set of Calloway golf clubs in a personalized golf club bag, a pair of Oakley Desert Storm sunglasses and two Smith & Wesson pocket knives were stolen from the vehicle, deputies said.
News4Jax spoke with the man whose home surveillance cameras captured the incident about 2:30 a.m. May 12, as well as the burglar trying to get into two other vehicles on the same street.
Neighbor Don Levangie said it happened during The Players Championship, which is one of the busiest weeks for the area.
Levangie said the neighborhood is quiet and he never saw this kind of activity before. But he said he keeps four security cameras on just in case, which he’s able to access from his phone.
He said it was easy to take snapshots of the guy and send the photos to the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s terrible that they can do that to you, you know? They just go along and check if you leave a window cracked or they carry a stick with them to get into it,” Levangie said. “You do feel violated.”
Deputies describe the man in the surveillance photos as a white male with a military-style haircut and a large tattoo covering the calf of his right leg.
Anyone with information is asked to call SJCSO Detective Jon Elliott at 904-824-8304 or email at jelliott@sjso.org. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS.