Jacob Ortega broke into bakery’ A Florida man found himself in cuffs after allegedly breaking into a local bakery and stealing money to splurge on food and alcohol. Red Crocs, the suspect’s recognizable footwear of choice, were key to his identification and subsequent arrest. The event happened at Crumbl Cookie, which is located in Brooksville at 7069 Coastal Boulevard. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office claims that a suspect wearing a black hoodie, black leggings, and red Crocs forced entry into the bakery through a side door on the night of the burglary. Cash was taken from the safe and the cash register by the individual. The guy was also seen walking about with a brown and black rucksack while sporting a black mask.
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Who is Jacob Ortega?
The manager of Crumbl Cookie told detectives that Jacob Ortega, a former employee, had a distinguishing habit of always wearing red Crocs and carrying a rucksack that was identical in the description. This led to detectives rapidly being suspicious of Ortega. As a result of gathering video evidence from nearby establishments, detectives were able to identify a vehicle that was nearby when the burglary occurred. They thought the guy might have been committing crimes with this car.
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On August 1, detectives traced the vehicle’s owner to his residence. The owner revealed that he had received a call from Ortega around 2 am on July 20, requesting a ride to the Coastal Plaza, where Crumbl Cookie was located, to make a drug deal. The owner dropped off Ortega at the plaza and later picked him up near the Home Goods store. During their conversation with the vehicle’s owner, he disclosed that Ortega had mentioned he obtained money from the burglary and had stored some of it inside the vehicle. The detectives then searched the vehicle and found cash in the glove compartment, which they confiscated as evidence.
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Suspect confesses to burglary
Confronted by the evidence, Ortega confessed to his involvement in the burglary. He further admitted that he still possessed the codes to the bakery’s door, safe, and register from his previous employment, which he used to gain access to the establishment and steal the cash. Ortega claimed he spent a significant portion of the stolen money on food and alcohol for himself and his friends. The rest of the money was reportedly stored in his friend’s vehicle.
As a result of his confession and the substantial physical evidence, Ortega was placed under arrest and now faces charges of burglary structure (with a mask enhancer), grand theft, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. His bond has been set at $12,000. The investigation into the burglary is still ongoing as authorities continue to gather information related to the case, Fox 13 reported.
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Florida’s stream of peculiar crimes
William Colon was arrested for stealing a truck
This incident is just the latest in a string of quirky “Florida man” theft cases. Recently, 31-year-old William Colon was arrested for stealing a truck after a night of drinking at a bar. Unable to find his own vehicle’s keys, he opted to “borrow” the Chevrolet pickup truck in the bar’s parking lot. He eventually got caught driving the stolen vehicle back home by the police. The Port St Lucie Police Department’s Facebook post about the man’s unusual motive quickly went viral. The post was titled “Man Arrested for Stealing Truck from Bar Parking Lot Because He Needed a Ride Home.”
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In another unrelated case, 28-year-old Justin McCall was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a series of burglaries. McCall gained media attention after accidentally shooting himself in the leg during one of his criminal endeavors. The State Attorney, Ginger Bowden Madden, released a statement indicating that McCall not only stole miscellaneous items from the vehicles he burglarized but also took a firearm from an unsecured vehicle.
