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DeBary police report high clearance rates, detail recent arrests and active investigations
Summary
City of DeBary law enforcement told officials the department’s clearance rates are well above national averages and summarized multiple recent arrests and ongoing investigations including aggravated assault, burglaries, robberies and a February shooting tied to an out‑of‑county vehicle.
City of DeBary law enforcement reported an 88% clearance rate for the period and a 90% year‑to‑date clearance for person crimes, and described a series of recent arrests and ongoing investigations into assaults, burglaries, robberies and related criminal activity.
Officials said the department recorded 26 person crimes during the reporting period, with 23 cleared; property crimes (excluding fraud) cleared at about 60% for the period and 56% year‑to‑date. Overall clearance for the period was reported at 77% and 79% year‑to‑date. The presenters contrasted those figures with national averages for violent (about 41%) and property (about 17%) crime clearance rates.
The law enforcement briefing included case details and investigative steps. On an aggravated assault at the intersection of Lazio and Kalen, investigators obtained an arrest warrant quickly and captured the suspect using license‑plate reader (LPR) data; "He fully admitted everything in an interview at the jail," Captain Israel said. Detectives are seeking additional charges related to lewd and lascivious behavior involving juveniles; the case is cleared by arrest.
Deputies reported two burglaries in the Integra Reserve area where unlocked garages were entered and tools, keys and batteries valued at about $1,100 were taken; the case is assigned to the criminal investigations division (CID) and investigators have searched pawn shops and online marketplaces for stolen items. A separate storage‑unit burglary on Spring Vista Drive produced video showing a suspect returning after the renters left; the suspect has an active arrest warrant and the case is expected to clear by arrest.
At 308 Pitch Pine Drive deputies said they identified and arrested juveniles after a forced‑entry ‘‘kick‑in'' burglary captured on video. Deputies credited patrol and video evidence in that arrest.
A domestic‑related robbery at 128 Florence Boulevard was reported cleared by arrest after the defendant removed keys and a phone from a victim. A motor‑vehicle theft at 1100 North Thorpe in Orange City was reported recovered in DeLand and cleared by arrest. In a separate incident at 58 Charles R. O. Bill (Dollar General), deputies responding to a live 911 report located and arrested a suspect who had taken a woman and child from a vehicle during an argument.
Investigators described a theft from a vehicle at Bill Keller Ballpark on Columba Road in which two wallets and cards were taken from an unlocked car; video and LPR hits led investigators into Broward County, where a vehicle was recovered and a search warrant executed. Forensic testing of latent prints and DNA is pending; deputies said an arrest is imminent.
Investigators summarized work on a February shooting into an occupied dwelling in the Palmetto Springs area. The vehicle used in that shooting was traced to Miramar in South Florida; detectives recovered the vehicle, executed search warrants and identified multiple people who used the rental vehicle. Investigators said they are reviewing bank records and multiple cell‑phone data warrants to establish links among suspects.
Deputies also described a pattern of vehicle‑ and property‑crime crews traveling into Volusia County from other jurisdictions. Officials said they have shifted patrol resources and are using LPRs and targeted enforcement in the city’s south end to disrupt those patterns; an additional enforcement operation is planned later this month, officials said.
City officials and deputies noted other quality‑of‑life enforcement: a focused golf‑cart compliance operation produced relatively few violations after school‑year enforcement; deputies said they will continue targeted checks. Department leaders also praised interagency cooperation that led to out‑of‑county recovery and arrests in multiple incidents.
No formal council action was taken during the briefing; law enforcement staff said most matters remain active CID investigations and some cases will proceed to arrest and prosecution as warrants and evidence processing are completed.
