Couple stole from hurricane-damaged condos, and left a child in car, Florida cops say
A couple are accused of stealing from Hurricane Ian-battered apartments in Collier County and they brought along a small child, deputies said.
According to deputies, Alxis Tatiana Dibrigida, 28, of Centennial, Colorado, and Stephen Granieri, 47, of St. Petersburg, were caught stealing from condos Sunday in a section of Florida’s Vanderbilt Beach that was damaged by winds and water from Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28.
Dibrigida and Granieri left a young child unattended inside their car at the time, deputies said.
According to deputies, the burglaries happened on Gulfshore Drive North at the Sausalito Condominiums in the 9400 block and Bellagio Grande in the 10600 block.
Detectives said “the pair kicked in doors, ransacked several residences and destroyed property before making off with clothing, shoes, wine, liquor and other items. One victim reported an entire closet of clothing had been stolen.”
Detectives said one unit where the owners had evacuated appeared to have been lived in for the night, noting that there were pillows and blankets on the couch and multiple bottles of alcohol were out of the cabinets.
How detectives found out
Detectives were tipped that something was amiss in the neighborhood when, about 12:40 p.m. Sunday, they got a call about a “suspicious car that was left running in the parking garage with a baby in it and nobody around” at the Bellagio Grande. The caller also told dispatchers he heard the sound of glass shattering and loud noises coming from one of the units that was below his, according to court documents.
When deputies arrived they found two glass doors to one of the units had been kicked in and shattered. The unit had been ransacked and property was destroyed. Damage was estimated to be $10,000 to $20,000.
What detectives found
That’s when detectives made another discovery in a car left running in the apartment’s parking garage.
“We looked into the vehicle and observed a small child in a car seat in the rear behind the driver’s seat,” wrote Collier Deputy Sherry Rego on the arrest report. The car seat was not secured to the car.
“I opened the door to check the well-being of the child who was warm to the touch, had several bug bites on his arms, legs and crying sporadically,” Rego said in the report.
Deputies said the inside of the unspecified car “was filthy and deplorable” and that it was registered to Granieri.
When detectives announced their presence, Dibrigida and Granieri ran toward the idling car. Granieri was immediately taken into custody. Dibrigida ran from deputies.
The chase
An FPL worker outside told the chasing deputies he saw a woman in a black dress-type garment and orange sneakers ducking into a nearby apartment building. Dibrigida then ran in another direction when the FPL worker alerted deputies and the detectives chased her down. She was found hiding in some bushes and taken into custody, according to the arrest report.
When Dibrigida was captured and walked back to a patrol car she refused to cooperate or answer any questions posed by detectives, according to the arrest report. “At no time did she ask about her son or his well-being. Her only concern was that of her husband and the debris attached to her clothing,” Rego wrote.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office declined to answer a Miami Herald inquiry about who the child belonged to or what the nature of the couple’s relationship was.
In an email, Karie Partington, media relations bureau manager for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, said, “Under Marsy’s law we are prohibited from releasing any information that could identify the victim of a crime. The child in this instance is a victim of the crime of child neglect.”
According to the arrest report, deputies found items stolen from the unit inside Granieri’s car as well as numerous other items including fishing poles and bottles of alcohol that were located next to the child.
Detectives also found that two glass doors had been shattered and kicked in to another unit in the 1600 apartment complex and that the unit was ransacked and some property was destroyed.
Detectives notified the owners who came over and identified several pieces of their property that were on the ground in a trail leading from the stairwell, outside into the garage and up to the idling car. The owners looked through the windows of the car and saw several pieces of their property that had been stored inside their home.
Because of Hurricane Ian, the apartment building was without power and had been evacuated except for a man and his wife.
In addition to multiple grand theft and burglary charges, Dibrigida and Granieri face child neglect charges. According to Rego’s report, deputies cleaned, fed and placed a fresh diaper on the child. The Florida Department of Children and Families intervened and the child was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The investigation is ongoing.
“If you’re thinking about coming to Collier County during this state of emergency and committing felonious activity here, think again,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a Facebook post. “We’ve got deputies and technology on the ground, in the air and on the water 24/7 committed to keeping our community safe during storm recovery. Don’t even try it.”
Another Ian-related crime
Sheriff’s departments, however, note that people are trying.
Two South Florida neighbors from South Miami-Dade who said they were in Lee County to help with cleanup efforts after Ian were arrested Sunday after they were caught stealing from a business, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
What about discarded items?
Apparently some confusion exists as to what constitutes stealing, judging from an unrelated social media post from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 3.
After Hurricane Ian left many homes damaged or in ruins in parts of Florida, residents had to make the difficult decision to toss out their personal belongings outside their homes in rights of way used for garbage collection.
Curbside picking of discarded items in the right of way is not theft, Collier deputies noted in a Facebook post. But deputies do note it could “feel like a violation when strangers are going through those things out in the street.
“We know that there is deep emotional pain in having to throw away personal items that have been ruined by the storm,” detectives posted. “But it’s not unlawful and you should not react with violence or aggression. ... Don’t let your enthusiasm for ‘free’ stuff lead you beyond the right of way.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Couple stole from hurricane-damaged condos, and left a child in car, Florida cops say."
