Perp Turned Himself In

I have confirmed that the suspect turned himself in on Friday. This is the one that many neighbors identified from the photos that was in the stolen green car using the stolen credit card at McDonald’s and 7-11.  He was released on bail by 2:30 that afternoon.  

I have already sent in questions regarding the stolen property and car to find out if anything was recovered and will send an update when I hear back.

Remember – there may be other individuals involved.  Please do not let your guard down, keep your vehicles locked and put valuables in the trunk or in your house.  Remember – your job is to call in suspicious things, write down tag numbers, take photos, etc.  Do NOT try to physically catch a criminal or put yourself in a dangerous situation!  Vigilantes need not apply!

Suzanne Arnold

LMJ Neighborhood Watch

ps – You are all doing a great job calling in suspicious vehicles – and the police definitely have a lot to look into.  For those of you that saw all the cop cars and helicopter out here the other day – it was a neighbor that thought someone was breaking in across the street.  Turns out that she didn’t know the neighbor – and it was his house – but she did the right thing to call in suspicious activity – and the police obviously took this situation very seriously!

Hello Neighbors,

Need your help on a couple of things.

1 – We are going to apply for grant money to purchase security cameras and yard signs for our community.  I found out that there is a mandatory meeting to attend on this Friday March 18^th from 10am – 11.  I'm not able to attend and was hoping one of our members could go to this??  More info at the bottom of the page.  Please reply back if you are able to go to this.  (we only need one person to gather the info.) Thanks!

2 – Block Captains & Assistants

When we started our CrimeWatch program 3 years ago – we started to assign block captains, but the person that was going to help me assign got too busy to help with this.  (I’m assuming that those of you that signed up to be block captains in the past are still willing.)   I’m looking for more block captain to help distribute window decals and go door to door on their own street to make sure all residents know what is going on.  If you could help by being a block captain – or if you want to help other ways – please let me know!  Thanks!

3 – Neighborhood Watch   -   Name Change 

We are now organized enough and have more than the required amount of households participating in our CrimeWatch program – so we are now officially joining the Orange County Neighborhood Watch program.   This means that our Crime Prevention Officer will help follow up on our cases and keep us informed (like sending us photos of suspects.) This program is a non-profit group that will also allow us to apply for grant money to help with safety issues and I will be receiving weekly updates about crimes in the area.  I personally think this name suits our purpose better since we don’t normally have a lot of crime – and we also alert residents to safety issues such as fires.  (Which I just found out that the smoke currently in the area is from a controlled burn in Osceola.)

I spent Wed morning at the new Orange County Police substation on Lake Underhill Rd.  I met with our Crime Prevention Officer, the Police Captain for our sector, and another Deputy that specializes in vandalism and graffiti.   I can assure you - they are very dedicated to catching our suspects and also showed me some of the computer programs and the process that they use to identify communities that need extra attention.  We will be holding a Neighborhood Watch meeting in our neighborhood soon.

Keep sending in your info on suspicious vehicles etc.  We have positively identified one suspect so far – but there are definitely more people involved in the crimes out here.  Once again – please let the police handle this – and I will send you more information when it is released.

Thanks for being part of our Neighborhood Watch!

Suzanne Arnold

Safety Grants Available for Orange County Non-Profit Organizations

Do you have a project idea that will improve safety or reduce crime in the community?  If so, you may be eligible for up to $10,000 in grant funding from the Orange County Neighborhood Services Division’s Crime Prevention Program.  The grant funds can be used to implement safety projects that can be completed within a 12 month timeframe. Projects can target seniors, youth, certain neighborhoods or any other area with a demonstrated need in Orange County.

To be eligible, organizations must be a IRS recognized non profit organization and have adequate staff to administer the grant project. A mandatory grant orientation will be held March 18, 2011, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., Internal Operations Centre, 450 East South Street, Largo Room.  Click here to register for this orientation.

To obtain a grant application package, please contact Michelle Owens, 407-836-5621 or michelle.owens@ocfl.net