ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orlando police investigators say authorities in Polk County have arrested a sixth gang member of a Central Florida crime organization connected to nearly $2 million in car and firearm thefts.
Detectives with the Orlando Police Department’s gang unit said they had been looking for 20-year-old Hollins Mills following the arrest of five Central Florida gang members after a two-year-long investigation.
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Orlando Police Detective Mike Glatthorn said Jabari Davis, 19, Darrion Montgomery, 18, James Lodi, Jr., 18, Jaquez Smith, 21, Tyrone Rivers, 19, and Mills are the organizers of the operation.
Five of the suspects had been arrested except for Mills until now. Mills was arrested Tuesday in Polk County, according to Lt. Jonathan Bigelow with OPD’s gang unit.
Mills was arrested Tuesday night while at a residence in Polk County with the assistance of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, according to Orlando police officials.
His arrest is the result of an investigation started in July 2019 by the Orlando police Special Enforcement Division’s Gang Unit. The investigation began after a rising number of commercial burglaries and auto thefts across Florida were linked to the the six suspects.
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Police said the group would often steal a vehicle from local neighborhoods and then use it to commit other crimes; including more vehicle thefts, commercial burglaries, and vehicle burglaries, during which the suspects removed weapons and other property.
According to court paperwork, Orlando police have connected Mills and other gang members to car thefts involving at least 25 law enforcement agencies across the state.
Mills is currently in the Polk County Jail and will be extradited to Orange County to face racketeering and organized crime charges.