April 21, 2026 – Englewood, FL
A Cape Coral man was arrested immediately after stealing two marine GPS units valued at $5,000 each.
Around 1:30am on Sunday, April 19, deputies observed a suspicious vehicle driving “blacked-out” (with all lights off) on Bourbon Street in Englewood. The vehicle then braked and made a sudden turn off the street where the deputy saw it. As the deputy strategically caught up to the vehicle, it then turned into a condo complex on Placida Road in an apparent attempt to evade law enforcement.
Another deputy in the area watched the same vehicle exit the complex and conducted a stop based on a traffic violation. The first deputy then joined them at the location of the stop on S. McCall Road. The registered owner, Luis Rochel Aguilar Sanchez (8/16/1992), was inside the vehicle along with another man. Due to the suspicious behavior observed, the deputies asked for consent to search the vehicle, to which Sanchez agreed.
On the rear passenger floorboard, the deputies located a black backpack. Inside the bag, they discovered two Garmin marine GPS units with freshly cut wires. The bag also contained miscellaneous tools, a face mask, and latex gloves. Recalling that the initial location the first deputy saw the vehicle was near a boat retail business, he responded back to that business to investigate. While doing so, he found one display boat with two missing Garmin units and a distinct, fresh Adidas shoeprint nearby. A photo of that shoeprint was an identical match to the shoes being worn by Sanchez.
Both Sanchez and the other man were detained and transported to the District One Office for interview. Sanchez refused to answer any questions, but the other man explained that his friend (Sanchez) asked to be dropped off near Nebraska Avenue and Towhee Street so he could meet up with a woman for an intimate encounter. Sanchez took his backpack with him when he exited the vehicle. The intersection of Nebraska and Towhee is directly adjacent to where the boat with the stolen GPS units was found on the business property.
The man went on to say that he was told to wait nearby and received a call from Sanchez approximately 20 minutes later asking to be picked up from the same intersection. Sanchez then told the man to turn off his headlights as they drove away, which is when the deputy first saw the vehicle.
“This is a perfect example of why my deputies patrol the way they do. Not only are they conducting business checks, but they’re also watching for anything out of the ordinary. In this case, their intuition led to catching a thief with $10k worth of stolen equipment. I would think by now criminals would know not to try their luck in Charlotte County, but we’ll keep the handcuffs ready for the ones who didn’t get that memo.”
Sheriff Bill Prummell
Based on the totality of circumstances, to include the blacked-out vehicle and suspicious driving, the location Sanchez was dropped off and picked up, the shoeprint matching his footwear, and his possession of the two stolen Garmin GPS units and accompanying tools/gear, Sanchez was placed under arrest and transported to the Charlotte County Jail. He was charged with two counts of burglary, grand theft, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful use of communications device. He has since been released on $12,500 bond.