Bradenton man broke into several cars. Manatee deputies were watching from above
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man accused of breaking into eight cars and attempting to break into several others early Friday.
A sheriff’s office Aviation Unit monitoring the 3700 block of 59th Avenue West around 1 a.m. caught Dylan Watson, 21, entering unlocked vehicles and pulling on the door handles of other vehicles in the Mirror Lakes Condominium Complex.
While deputies in the helicopter kept watch from above, officers and a K9 unit responded to the scene and set up a perimeter in the area. Video from the helicopter captured the encounter with Watson.
In the footage, Watson is seen running from the deputies and hopping over a fence to avoid arrest. Deputies were able to apprehend the suspect after a short chase.
According to an arrest report, Watson confessed to breaking into six vehicles and attempting to break into 35 others in the complex. Deputies say he also admitted to breaking into two other vehicles in the past month.
Watson was also a suspect in a separate burglary investigation on Aug. 30, when deputies say he was seen trying to steal a laptop and a backpack from the Trailer Estates Mobile Home Park, an arrest report said.
Watson is charged with eight counts of vehicle burglary, 35 counts of attempted vehicle burglaries and two counts of trespassing on school grounds. He is being held at the Manatee County Jail on bond totaling $63,240.
