Man arrested in connection to at least 40 car burglaries in Volusia

Detectives say he admitted to breaking into several cars

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Jason Lancaster, 39, is behind bars at the Volusia County Jail in connection to at least 40 car break-ins.

One victim says her husband was home while Lancaster was stealing from their car outside.

"The glove box, I mean everything was ransacked, you could tell that someone had gone through the vehicles," said Glenda Snell.

Glenda Snell says it happened Saturday evening but her husband didn't notice something was wrong until the next morning, when his gun was missing.

"It wasn't just one handgun, there were several firearms that were stolen from several people in the 40 that he burglarized but I'm just glad he's caught," added Snell.

New Smyrna Beach Police Department and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office worked together to arrest Lancaster on Tuesday. Authorities said he was in possession of items reported stolen during the vehicle burglaries. 

Detectives say Lancaster broke into dozens of cars in and around New Smyrna Beach. It wasn't until he was caught on video that deputies were able to track him down.

"He was bold, he was brazen, he was quick, and he was pretty methodical for an individual driven for probably what was the need for whatever his fix was," said neighbor Jay Lamee.

Jay Lamee lives on the same street and tells us the damage Lancaster did to his car trying to get inside, was more than what he stole.

"We had small amounts of stuff taken and the damage to the vehicle was worse for the entry of it. It was concerning, the fact that he might have had loaded weapons from some previous break-in," said Lamee.

Detectives say Lancaster admitted to breaking into several cars. Glenda says she hopes her gun is eventually recovered.

"It is a little unsettling but unfortunately it happened and now we just have to pick up the pieces and move on from there," added Snell.

Authorities are still working to locate the owners of additional stolen property found in Lancaster's possession, police said. 

Lancaster is charged with armed burglary, possession of weapon/ammo by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm, burglary of a conveyance and petit theft.


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