Dozens of cars vandalized at Kissimmee hotels

Laptops, luggage among stolen items

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Osceola County deputies said 90 vehicles were burglarized or vandalized while parked near hotels in Kissimmee overnight Tuesday.

Officials with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office were at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Calypso Cay Resort and SpringHill Suites by Marriott Tuesday morning on Calypso Cay Way investigating the incident.

By Wednesday, deputies said they believed more than one person was behind the spree. 

"Without a doubt -- based on the number of burglaries in a short amount of time -- definitely more than one person and more than two people," Maj. Jacob Ruiz, with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, said. 

Deputies were still working to gather surveillance video from nearby businesses Wednesday as they tried to identify the culprits.

"We're focusing all available resources and necessary resources to figure out who is involved in this," Ruiz said. 

Aurea Negron planned on driving back to North Carolina after visiting family, before she noticed her work laptop was stolen from her car and her windows were shattered. 

"This window was shattered, this other window was shattered," she said. "All my stuff was all dragged on the parking lot. I told my kids it's going to be a poor Christmas because money I have saved has to be used for the deductible. It's a sad time of the year for this to happen."

Some of the cars had smashed windows. Luggage, laptops and GPS devices were stolen, according to several people on scene.

"The guys broke the window, they stole the GPS," Ruben Riskowksy, who was visiting from Brazil with his family, said.

Some found themselves with odd items stolen, like rental car paperwork and car registrations. 

"They just took the papers, they thought it was something important but it wasn't," Richard Periald of Quebec said.

Signs surround all the parking lots reminding guests that they're responsible for anything that happens to their vehicles and they assume all risk. 

Allen Beasley found his car with water inside from the rain overnight. 

"The biggest price will be the inconvenience," Allen Beasley said. "I live in Tallahassee and I'm just visiting this area. I have to do all of this here, probably miss a day of work. Many, many problems, a lot of inconveniences." 

If you have any idea what happened or who is responsible, you're asked to contact the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

"It's a shopping season for us and it's a shopping season for burglars and crooks," Ruiz said. "There are people out there who probably saw something and thought it was odd. But don't be afraid, we want to hear from you."


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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