License Plate Reader Leads To Burglary Suspects In Stolen Car

Deltona, FL – Four people, 20-year-old Ernst Baptiste, Jr., two 16-year-old males, and one 17-year-old male, are in custody after a License Plate Reader identified the stolen 2017 Lexus sedan they used in an attempted residential burglary yesterday (October 21) afternoon. The LPR alerted Volusia Sheriff’s deputies to the car around 4:30 p.m.  The vehicle sped off when a deputy spotted it near S.R. 415 and S.R. 44. Air One got involved and soon spotted the car backed into a parking space at a nearby Dollar General store. The deputy who’d originally spotted the car saw a group of young men on foot walking away from the Dollar General. Air One then spotted them going into a Kangaroo gas station. The deputy went into the store and detained three of the suspects while the fourth ran out the door.  Another deputy gave chase and with the help of a passer-by, caught that suspect in a field.  It was determined that the four suspects had been involved in the attempted burglary, where they and the stolen vehicle were recorded on home video surveillance. All four face multiple charges. The juveniles were taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The only adult, Baptiste, is charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, resisting without violence, trespassing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, attempted burglary, possession of burglary tools. In custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $16,500 bond.