This morning, as the result of an in depth investigation
conducted by Detective Sergeant Angela Campbell and Officer Tim Smith, the
Orange County Sheriff’s West Side Fugitive Unit located and arrested 24
year old Steven Lamar Nedd for numerous crimes connected to burglaries which
occurred in Oakland.
In February, we began to be plagued
by a series of residential burglaries. Some of these burglaries occurred
while the homes were occupied. Weapons, electronics, jewelry and cash
were among the items taken. On two occasions, vehicles were
stolen. We shared this information on the department web site
and with our local Neighborhood Watch group. From the outset our officers
worked diligently on these cases. Additionally we ran a number of
surveillance operations in an attempt to identify and apprehend those
responsible.
In mid-May Sergeant
Campbell located some of the stolen items in an area pawn shop. Since
most pawn shops utilize surveillance cameras, Sergeant Campbell was able to
positively identify the person pawning items taken in our burglaries as Nedd.
He was also identified in a video taken at an Apopka gas station, driving one
of the vehicles stolen from Oakland.
As the investigation continued, Nedd was tied to a number of burglaries,
including those that occurred at 525 N. Tubb St., 302 N. Arrington St., 218 W.
Oakland Av. and 505 W. Herriott Av.. Working with the assistance of
Officer Smith, Sergeant Campbell located additional stolen property and
developed new leads. A number of stolen items have already been returned
to the victims. The stolen vehicles and some of the stolen property
have been recovered. A total of six warrants were ultimately obtained by
Sergeant Campbell for Nedd’s arrest. These warrants contained
various charges, including burglary, grand theft, credit card theft, illegal
use of a credit card, dealing in stolen property, false verification to a
second hand dealer and criminal mischief.
While we do not have enough evidence to charge Nedd with any additional
burglaries at this time, those investigations continue.