Crime ring lands at SRQ airport. They got away in stolen rental cars, cops say

The theft of several vehicles from rental car agencies at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport have been linked to a crime ring operating out of Tampa, according to airport officials.

Police reports indicate nine vehicles were stolen in July, but airport President and CEO Fredrick Piccolo first said as many as 15 vehicles were taken. Piccolo said he was given the total of 15 by SRQ Chief of Police James Carlino.

Carlino was placed on paid administrative leave on July 24 pending the outcome of an investigation into a performance-related complaint against him. Officials will not comment further on the investigation until it is complete, Piccolo said.

The nine vehicles stolen, with a total value of about $390,000, were taken between July 1 and 19, according to the incident reports. An additional incident in the Hertz parking lot on the night of July 11-12 may have resulted in more thefts but Hertz had yet to provide police with that information as of Wednesday.

“We haven’t had any incidents in the last couple weeks,” Piccolo said Tuesday.

The airport police department had been working joint operations with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office to combat the thefts. Many of the vehicles have been recovered in the Tampa area by the Tampa Police Department or the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

The SQR police incident reports listed three arrests but only one suspect, Carlo Green, was named.

Green, 21, is charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary of an occupied conveyance and resisting an officer without violence. He was released from the Hillsborough County jail on bonds totaling $2,250.

The crime ring is believed to have moved on to other targets, according to what SRQ officials said they were told by law enforcement.

Many of the vehicles that were stolen had the keys left inside of them, Piccolo said, leading to the hardening of security at the rental car facilities.

On July 10, a manager with the Avis Rent A Car at the airport reported that a silver 2018 Chevrolet Corvette had been discovered missing from their lot. The car was reported to have been taken sometime between July 4 and July 10. Tracking the vehicle’s location, police were able to alert Tampa police and the car was found.

That same day, a manager from the airport’s Enterprise Rent-A-Car location reported that a silver 2018 Cadillac XTS had been discovered missing. According to Enterprise, video surveillance showed two suspects entering their lot at about 10 p.m. on July 1 and taking the car. Using On-star’s GPS service, the car’s location was determine and Tampa police were again alerted.

When Tampa police found the car in the 2400 block of East Hillsborough Avenue, Green was seen getting into the driver’s seat. But Green took off running when he saw the officers, according to an arrest report. Officers chased him through an apartment complex and apprehended him a short distance away.

The next day, Avis discovered two more vehicles missing from its lot. A silver 2018 Dodge Charger and a red 2018 Dodge Charger were stolen sometime between July 8 and 10, Avis told police.

On July 13, Tampa police found the silver Charger in the 3400 block of 29th Avenue but no arrest was made. The next day, they also found the red Charger at the intersection of 24th Avenue and 17th Street in Tampa. An arrest was made but the suspect was not identified in the incident report.

Early on July 12, police were called out to the Hertz car rental location after an airport operations worker reported that it appeared a vehicle had crashed into the lot’s entrance gate. Police found the damage to the gate and silver plastic pieces believed to be from a Volvo’s fender. They also discovered a door leading to the automotive service garage was open .

Police were able to determine that the door appeared to have been negligently left open by Hertz employees, according to their reports. Hertz thought as many five cars may have been taken from the lot but have yet to officially file a report.

Before dawn on July 19, police were called out to the Alamo Rent a Car lot after being alerted by the airport operations center when an Alamo employee arrived to find that the lock on the gate had been cut.

Hours earlier that morning, video surveillance captured a suspect running across the lot and getting into a silver 2018 Cadillas XTS. About an hour lapsed before three vehicles, the silver Cadillac and two black 2018 Cadillas XTS, were seen approaching the gate from inside the lot while someone someone from the outside cut the gate’s chain and lock off. Police discovered that Alamo’s chain-link fence had been cut on the northwest corner of the property, where police believe the suspects entered the property. One of the black Cadillacs had the key left inside, according to the incident reports.

The same morning, police were called over to Budget Rent a Car after it was discovered that their chain-link fence had also been cut open on the southwest corner of the lot. Thieves had made off with a black 2018 Ford Mustang convertible and a silver 2018 GMC Terrain, leaving through the same opening in the fence. Both vehicles had the keys left inside and Budget did not have video surveillance footage of the theft.

All five of these vehicles were located later that day suing On-Star’s GPS services. One of the black Cadillacs and the GMC Terrain were found by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The other black Cadillac was found by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Tampa police found the silver Cadillac and the Mustang.

A unidentified woman was arrested when the Mustang was located.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 2:28 PM.