Cape Coral man caught with $10,000 in stolen marine GPS units minutes after theft

ENGLEWOOD, Fla. (WINK)— A Cape Coral man was arrested early Sunday morning after Charlotte County deputies caught him allegedly stealing two marine GPS units worth $5,000 each.

Around 1:30 a.m. on April 19, a Charlotte County deputy spotted a suspicious vehicle driving with all its lights off on Bourbon Street in Englewood. The vehicle suddenly braked and turned off the street when the driver apparently noticed the deputy, then pulled into a condo complex on Placida Road, apparently attempting to evade law enforcement.

Another deputy in the area watched the same vehicle exit the complex and conducted a traffic stop on S. McCall Road. The registered owner, Luis Rochel Aguilar Sanchez, was inside the vehicle along with another man.

Due to the suspicious behavior, deputies asked for consent to search the vehicle, and Sanchez agreed. On the rear passenger floorboard, deputies found a black backpack containing two Garmin marine GPS units with freshly cut wires, miscellaneous tools, a face mask, and latex gloves.

The first deputy returned to a boat retail business near where he initially spotted the vehicle. He found one display boat with two missing Garmin units and a distinct, fresh Adidas shoeprint nearby that matched the shoes Sanchez was wearing.

Both men were detained and transported to the District One Office for interviews. Sanchez refused to answer questions, but the other man told deputies that Sanchez asked to be dropped off near Nebraska Avenue and Towhee Street to meet a woman.

The man said Sanchez took his backpack with him when he got out of the vehicle. The intersection of Nebraska and Towhee is directly adjacent to where the boat with the stolen GPS units was located on the business property.

The man said he waited nearby and received a call from Sanchez approximately 20 minutes later, asking to be picked up from the same intersection. Sanchez then told him to turn off his headlights as they drove away, and that was when the deputy first spotted the vehicle.

Based on the evidence, including the blacked-out vehicle, suspicious driving, the location where Sanchez was dropped off and picked up, the matching shoeprint, and his possession of the stolen GPS units and burglary tools, Sanchez was arrested and transported to the Charlotte County Jail. 

He was charged with two counts of burglary, grand theft, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful use of a communications device.

Sanchez has since been released on $12,500 bond.