Brevard County Sheriff’s Agents, Deputies Earn Praise For Crime Fighting Efforts

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – In late November 2016, a series of Armed Robberies took place in the unincorporated areas of Brevard County as well as the City of Cocoa.

In total, 6 Armed Robberies occurred that were simultaneously investigated by members of our East and West Precincts and the Cocoa Police Department.

Based on evidence and witness statements it was believed that the same suspect committed all of the robberies at the various locations.

At the onset of the investigation, limited information was available which could lead to the identification of a suspect. Several grainy videos were obtained which showed what was believed to be a maroon Nissan Maxima, leaving the scene of the crimes.

In an effort to quickly solve the crimes and get the perpetrators behind bars, members of our West Precinct General Crimes Unit (GVU) pooled their resources and conducted several surveillance operations in hopes of locating the suspect vehicle.

In addition, Analyst J. Martinez drafted several bulletins for distribution, assisting GCU in disseminating pertinent information regarding the crimes. Analyst Martinez was also able to develop a timeline using software that predicted possible future robberies.

On December 6, 2016, while on routine patrol in the area of Clearlake Road, Deputy C. Dasher observed a vehicle which resembled the suspect vehicle. Deputy Dasher was able to obtain the tag information; however, was unable to conduct an investigatory stop at that time.

Later in the same shift, Deputy Dasher located the vehicle a second time in a driveway, located at 1684 Ackley St, Cocoa.

Deputy Dasher subsequently relayed the information to members of West Precinct GCU for further investigative follow-up.

On December 7, 2016, members of the West GCU responded to Ackley Street in an attempt to locate the vehicle and identify a potential owner and suspect. Upon arrival, Agent Colon observed a pair of gloves in the front seat of the vehicle, as well as a pair of shoes that closely resembled those worn by the suspect during one of the robberies.

Agent Colon captured a video of the items on his cellular telephone. It is believed the suspect was inside of the residence at the time of the Deputy’s arrival; however, he did not respond to various knocks on the door in an attempt to make contact.

As the investigative team continued to work the case over the course of several days it was discovered that the current resident of 1684 Ackley Street was Jesse Crawford who was wanted on an active warrant out of Brevard County for a felony traffic offense.

Agent Colon contacted warrants and discovered that Jesse Crawford was arrested on December 10, 2016, for unrelated charges in Cottondale, FL. Agent Colon also discovered that Crawford was driving the suspect vehicle at the time of his arrest, which was now impounded by the Cottondale Police Department in their jurisdiction.

As a result of the new development in the case, Agent Colon prepared a search warrant for the suspect vehicle based upon the various investigative leads.

On December 16, 2016, Agent Colon, assisted by Agent Barrial of East Precinct, traveled to Jackson County to obtain and serve the warrant on the above-mentioned vehicle.

During the execution of the warrant, several clothing items as well as a BB pistol were located within the vehicle. The items matched the clothing worn by the suspect during the commission of the robberies providing even more investigative leads in the case.

Pursuant to the execution of the search warrant Agents Colon and Barrial made contact with the suspect at the Jackson County Correctional Facility for the purpose of conducting an interview.

During the course of the interview Crawford gave a full confession to the commission of seven robberies in the Brevard County area.

As a result of great teamwork and a solid investigation another violent criminal is off our streets and behind bars where he can’t victimize anyone else. I could not be more proud of our team’s efforts and their dedication to protecting our community.

Please join me in congratulating the following members of our agency for a job well done in arresting the perpetrator of numerous Armed Robberies.

• Sgt. Ray Siegal
• Agent Lee Balparda
• Agent Maria Fernez
• Agent Chase Goff
• Agent Leonard Jones
• Agent Howard Shelton
• Deputy Cliffton Dasher
• Agent Raonel Barrial
• Agent Jeff Colon
• Analyst Jennifer Martinez

Great Job Everyone!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft. That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.

Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.

Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.

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