One of the oldest tools available to law enforcement for solving crimes is the use of fingerprints, and recently the Polk County Sheriff’s Office solved car burglaries using them.
Fingerprints recovered from one of four vehicles that were burgled near Lakeland in the fall allowed police to identify a suspect, and eventually law enforcement arrested three suspects involved.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has charged each of the suspects with Burglary of Conveyance (4-counts, F3) and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary (4-counts, F3). The three suspects are:
- Brandon Lambert, 20-years old, Lakeland
- Landon Brown, 18-years old, Lakeland
- Austin Stinson, 18-years old, Lakeland
“This was some solid work by everyone involved who worked to solve these crimes,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “It was a night of burglaries in which the crooks found nothing to steal, and now all they have to show for it are eight felonies each.”
During the investigation, a deputy found fingerprints on one of the vehicle doors. The prints were submitted to the PCSO Identification Section who determined that they belonged to Brandon Lambert.
According to law enforcement, during an interview with Lambert, he initially denied any knowledge of the crimes. When the detective asked him if they managed to get anything from any of the vehicles, he replied, “As I recall, it was an empty pockets kind of night.” Lambert was arrested.
As the investigation continued, the identities of the other two suspects were learned. The detective interviewed Austin Stinson and he confessed to being involved with the burglaries and was arrested.
By the time the detective got to Landon Brown, he was already in the Polk County Jail for an unrelated crime. During his interview with the detective, Brown also admitted to having a role in the burglaries.
All four of the car burglaries occurred in the area of 2nd Street NW in the Kathleen area of Lakeland, between 12:30 am and 2:00 am.
