SANFORD, Fla. – Court records show an 18-year-old is facing a burglary charge after police say he broke into a vehicle and stole a handgun.
Sanford police posted about the case on social media and asked the public for information on a suspect who stole several items, including an “all-black 9MM pistol” from a vehicle near Hickory Avenue and 8th Street in June.
Within a week, Kaiden Rodriguez was arrested.
On June 30, 2025, this unknown person burglarized a vehicle in the area of Hickory Avenue and 8th Street, and stole several items including a all-black Hellcat 9MM pistol.
— SanfordPolice (@SanfordPolice) July 25, 2025
Anyone with additional information, please contact the Sanford Police Department. If you see them, call 911… pic.twitter.com/z4auULFE2y
An arrest report for Rodriguez reveals his own grandmother saw the photo posted by the police department and told officers she recognized her grandson.
Officers went to the home where Rodriguez lives and searched for the handgun but did not find it in the house.
Sanford Police told News 6 there have been a total of 39 cases in which a firearm was stolen from a vehicle since January 2024. Twenty-three of those cases were in 2024, and 16 are from 2025.
News 6 has reported on several similar crimes this summer where firearms have been stolen out of vehicles.
Police in Tavares said there was a “concerning uptick” after two pistols were stolen in a string of 8 car burglaries in the Elmwood subdivision.
“Criminals, unfortunately, are opportunists, so they do tend to go for unlocked vehicles that maybe forgot to lock up before going inside,” said Tavares Police Public Information Officer Caitlin Diaz.
Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey told News 6 Trooper Steve that it’s one of the most common crimes his department sees.
“We’ve always had a problem with our citizens not locking their car doors and leaving valuables in their car,” said Chief Jesse Godfrey. “But the thing that drives us nuts about car breaks is they also leave their guns in their cars, and we have to lock them down.”
Godfrey said he worries the weapons will be used in other crimes.
“I just don’t, I don’t want to put the guns in the wrong hands,” Godfrey said.
It’s a problem across Central Florida. On Monday, News 6 asked several local law enforcement agencies how often these burglaries happen here.
A spokesperson with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said there have been 18 guns stolen from vehicles in their jurisdiction so far this year. In 2024, there were 31 total stolen.
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said generally speaking there are about 350 firearms stolen from vehicles annually in unincorporated Orange County.
An analysis of FBI crime data done by Everytown found on average, a gun is stolen from a car every 9 minutes in the U.S. They also found that cars are often parked in driveways and outside of homes when these burglaries happen, which demonstrates the importance of properly securing firearms at all times.