Officer Nabs Car Burglar In Cocoa Beach
By Space Coast Daily // May 30, 2012
Caught In Act
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA – Police in Cocoa Beach have arrested a Merritt Island man and charged him with two burglaries over the Memorial Day weekend.
James Barney Byers of Merritt Island, 19, was taken into custody after an officer came upon a crime scene Saturday.
Cocoa Beach police officer Ezequiel Rodriguez observed suspicious behavior in the 400 to 600 block of South Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach on Saturday.
He investigated and subsequently discovered Byers in the process of burglarizing a vehicle parked in the metered parking area of 6th Street South.
Items found in the possession of Byers linked him to a car burglary that had occurred moments before on the beach end of 4th Street South.
Officer Rodriguez was commended for his actions by Cocoa Beach Police Chief Bryan Holmes.
“This is an example of alert police work by a veteran officer,” Holmes said.
Byers was charged with two counts of burglary to a vehicle and two counts of theft.
He was delivered to the Brevard County Jail on an $8,000 bond.
