Warrants served on 11/2/15; total bond $35,000
On October 11, 2015, the Fellsmere Police Department made the community aware of a series of auto burglaries that occurred during the hours of darkness between October 9th and October 10th, 2015 on its Facebook page. A total of nine unlocked vehicles were entered and various items of value were removed, predominantly from vehicles parked in the street near to, or yards or driveways to homes located on N. Bay and N. Elm Streets.
While these burglaries may have been the first FPD made the community aware of, officers were already investigating an auto burglary that occurred sometime during the hours of darkness between October 8th and October 9th, 2015 in the 160 block of N. Oleander. In that case, a grinding tool and a hammer drill with a combined value in excess of $300 were removed from a pick-up truck parked at a residence in that area.
During the course of these investigations, Jesse Rey Cerda, DOB 10/25/96 of 14425 101st Street in Fellsmere was developed as a suspect:
-10/08/15 at 3:33 am: Cerda was stopped by an FPD officer in the vicinity of N. Willow Street and Oregon Avenue for riding a bicycle without a headlamp (the time frame of the N. Oleander burglary). The officer conducted a field interview to document the time and date of the contact and noted that Cerda had in his possession at that time, two knives and a glove (one glove without a mate).
-10/16/15 at 10:15 pm: Cerda was the subject of a suspicious incident investigation when officers responded to the Sonrise Villa Apartments to investigate a car alarm that was activated and the complainant found Cerda near his vehicle with no one else around.
-10/17/15 at 2:20 am: Fellsmere Police Officers assisted deputies from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office investigate an auto burglary that just occurred in the 14200 block of 97th Street. A perimeter was established and a search was conducted during which an FPD officer located Jesse Rey Cerda. He was found to have property in his possession that belonged to the victim and was arrested by the IRCSO. Cerda has been in the Indian River County Jail since that date.
After his arrest, a check of area pawn shops revealed a grinding tool and a hammer drill matching the description of the items taken in the N. Oleander Burglary were pawned on the same day the burglary was reported. A fingerprint analyst from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the thumb print on the pawn slip taken during the transaction matched that of Jesse Rey Cerda and the items were positively identified by the victim.
A detective applied for, and was granted arrest warrants for the following crimes:
-Burglary of a conveyance, bond $20,000
-Third degree grand theft, bond $5,000
-Dealing in stolen property, bond $10,000
Cerda was served with those warrants at the Indian River County Jail on Monday, November 2nd.
Cerda remains the primary suspect in the nine auto burglaries that occurred between October 9th and 10th in the city limits of Fellsmere and an additional case in the unincorporated area of Fellsmere. Those cases are still under investigation.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to contact the Fellsmere Police Department at 772-571-1360.
