Elijah Smith, 46, of Chilk Avenue, Sarasota, has been arrested for two counts of burglary and one count of robbery in connection to a string of crimes that occurred between November 14^th and November 30^th throughout the City of Sarasota.

On November 14, 2018 at approximately 12:30 a.m., Officers were dispatched to Wicked Cantina, 1603 N. Tamiami Trail, for an activated business alarm.  When they arrived, Officers found broken glass and a smashed window.  Video showed a suspect using a large rock to smash the front door.  The suspect fled the area with the cash register.

On November 29, 2018 at approximately 9:45 p.m., the same suspect broke into the Pines of Sarasota Thrift Store, 1501 N. Orange Avenue.  The suspect was seen on camera using a large rock to smash the glass of the front door and fled the area with leather jackets and several suitcases.

On November 30, 2018, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Officers responded to the Metro PCS store, 3080 North Washington Boulevard, reference a robbery.  The victim told Officers the suspect entered the store, said someone owed him money and implied he had a gun.  The suspect fled the store with $149 in cash.

On December 6, 2018, members of the Sarasota Police Department Street Crimes Unit located Smith at Martin Luther King Park.  He matched the description from the three crimes listed above. 

Smith was arrested for:

• 1 count of Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure (Wicked Cantina incident)
• 1 count of Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure (Pines of Sarasota incident)
• 1 count of Robbery (Metro PCS incident)

Smith was transported to the Sarasota County Jail without incident.

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