Cape Coral police arrest two burglary suspects caught on cam

Two Cape Coral burglary suspects that were caught on cam breaking into vehicles Sunday have been arrested.

Police responded to a call about a burglary happening on Surfside Boulevard at 3:48 a.m..

The victim said they saw, on security cameras, two men trying to open his vehicles door  parked in his driveway.

An officer saw a white Chevrolet four door vehicle sitting at an intersection on Surfside Boulevard. He said he could see at least three people inside the vehicle. The person in the rear of the vehicle appeared to have on a sweatshirt or some bulky top.

The vehicle sat at the intersection, even though it was clear for them to turn. Eventually, the vehicle turned southbound in front of his patrol car and the officer conducted an “investigatory stop” on the vehicle. The vehicle immediately slammed on its brakes and came to an abrupt stop.

According to the press release, the officer noticed the rear seat passenger, Walter L. Hutchins, 18, of Fort Myers, was wearing a light grey sweatshirt which matched the video description, and was extremely sweaty. “Hutchins appeared to have just gotten done running, as he was breathing heavy.”

The front seat passenger, Halsey D. Watkins, 22, of Fort Myers, was also breathing heavy, and had a light coat of sweat on his arms. On the rear passenger seat, there was also a red hooded sweatshirt. During this time, police say Halsey kept reaching down by his feet.

A detective from the Property Crimes Unit responded to the scene to assist with the vehicle burglary investigation.

Underneath the front passenger seat, where Watkins was sitting, Officers found a woman’s wallet and two cell phones. Officers later determined that this purse belonged to a second victim. About a $100 was found and a silver watch was also found inside of the vehicle’s center console.

While on scene, Officers made contact with the second victim who stated that the wallet located belonged to her and was stolen out of her unlocked vehicle.

The first victim was out of town at the time of the incident but notified law enforcement when he received an alert from his surveillance camera.

Based upon the investigation, detectives determined Watkins and Hutchins committed vehicle burglaries and were arrested.

Watkins faces a charge of Burglary to a Vehicle and Petit Theft.

Hutchins faces 2-counts of Burglary to a Vehicle and Petit Theft.

Both were later transferred to the Lee County Jail.