Clay County deputies announce arrest of accused serial burglar

Several break-ins happened in Cedar Bend area of Orange Park, deputies say

ORANGE PARK, Fla. – There's a neighborhood crime alert in Clay County, where deputies said they arrested a man who broke into more than a dozen homes in Orange Park.

Robert McGhee, 49, is charged with burglary.

According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, a lot of the break-ins happened in the area of the Cedar Bend Apartments in Orange Park, west of the Orange Park Mall.

People in that area told News4Jax they were relieved Wednesday afternoon when deputies announced the arrest in the series of burglaries. 

Burditte Grayer, who has lived in the Cedar Bend Apartments for about a year, had heard about the burglaries.

"We don't need that type of thing in the area," Grayer said.

Various reports show the burglar is accused of stealing everything from TVs to wallets by breaking windows and cutting through screens.

"I’m glad (to) hear they caught him. That’s good news," Grayer said. "We’ve got a lot of kids in this area -- something you’ve got to watch out for."

The area has been a target of the Clay County sheriff to cut down on crime. Sheriff Darryl Daniels has previously walked the neighborhood, and residents like Quana Braswell have noticed. 

"It’s been pretty quiet. We had some, like, drug activity, but they’ve been keeping it pretty clear, had a whole lot of walks out here and everything," Braswell said.

McGhee may not be the only arrest. According to the Sheriff's Office, more arrests may be made in the future.


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Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.