Volusia County Sheriffs Capture Robbery Suspect with Assistance from NDI License Plate Technology

NDI Recognition Systems’ license plate reader (LPR) technology helped Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputies arrest a suspect in the January 6, 2017 armed robbery of an e-cigarette store near Orange City, FL.

The person of interest is also a suspect in several other robbery cases in Central Florida and was already wanted in Volusia County on a warrant, charging him with burglary, grand theft, dealing in stolen property and giving false information to a pawnbroker. Surveillance images and witness descriptions were also used to identify the suspect and help in his capture.

The burglary-related charges stem from a break-in on Fergason Avenue in Deltona. Around 4:52 p.m. Jan. 6, deputies responded to a home where the front door was kicked in and a guitar was stolen.

Using surveillance video from a nearby residence, detectives identified a newer-model white SUV that pulled up to the house at the time of the burglary. A man exited the vehicle, then returned about six minutes later and drove away.

The SUV matched the description of the one seen in surveillance footage of the E-Cig robbery, which occurred earlier that afternoon, just before 4 p.m. on North Volusia Avenue near Orange City.

Detectives soon reviewed other camera footage in Deltona and spotted a white SUV driving on Providence Boulevard. Using license-plate reader technology, detectives and analysts with the Volusia County Crime Center identified the vehicle as a 2016 Toyota RAV-4 with a partial tag that came back with a potential match to Strickland's address on Harwick Lane.

Then detectives discovered the suspect's physical description matched that of the armed suspect who robbed the E-Cigarette store.

Next, an investigator started looking for any recent pawn-shop transactions involving the suspect. He found several in recent months, including one on Jan. 6. It was the guitar stolen during that day's residential burglary, pawned for $65.

Deputies went to the suspect's house just after 9 a.m. to serve the search warrant, and the suspect was taken into custody and interviewed. He was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail and held without bond.