Chad Campbell and Gene Autery Graham. {BSO}
By Ryan Yousefi
Two alleged burglars in Coral Springs recently discovered that evading the police can be an uphill climb — especially when one ends up stuck in a tree, and the other takes a dip in a nearby pool.
In the early morning of March 29, the Coral Springs Police Department responded to a reported in-progress vehicle burglary in which a caller claimed multiple suspects attempted to break into vehicles parked in their driveway.
According to the arrest report, law enforcement officers established a perimeter upon arrival and requested assistance from the Broward County Sheriff’s Aviation unit to locate the suspects.
BSO Aviation reported that two suspects, later identified as Gene Autery Graham, 19, and Chad Campbell, 18, both of North Lauderdale, were hiding in the bushes at the rear of a nearby residence.
The report says multiple officers encountered both suspects in the bushes and verbally commanded them to come out and identify themselves.
One of the suspects, identified as Graham in the report, unlawfully entered a patio screen door to a residence and jumped into the pool to evade police officers. The report says officers subsequently apprehended Graham without further incident.
At the same time, the second suspect, Campbell, led officers on a foot pursuit and was found hiding in a tree, where he refused to comply with commands to come down and turn himself in.
The report states officers eventually were forced to go into the tree to place Campbell in custody.
During the investigation, officers recovered a green bag containing a pink Michael Kors purse with four credit cards, a social security card, a medical insurance card, and a Florida driver’s license, all belonging to a resident of the area.
Additionally, officers located a vehicle key fob for a Ford F-150 parked adjacent to a Volkswagen Atlas. It was later determined that the key fob was stolen inside the Volkswagen Atlas.
Further investigation revealed that the suspects had also attempted to break into other vehicles in the area, with Graham admitting to trying three door handles in the exact location.
Both suspects were arrested and charged with burglary and resisting arrest. The recovered items were returned to their rightful owners.
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