The news archives are filled with stories of bumbling criminals, unsuccessful robberies and funny antics of failed burglary attempts. However, in October of 2009, a thief nearly got away with his burglary of a Florida home, if it wasn’t for him leaving identifying pictures at the scene of the crime. The man’s name was Scano Sinclair, and he was already a repeat offender for other burglary attempts. However, on this particular day, Sinclair had an accomplice. The two men decided to pull off an armed robbery/burglary, with procuring cash as their main objective.
A woman in Tamarac, Florida awoke one morning to find two men standing over her, guns drawn. The men demanded that she give up any cash that was currently located in the residence. The 25 year old woman complied, and the two burglars eventually fled the scene, getting away with several thousand dollars cash. However, one of the men made a crucial mistake.
This is one of the actual photos of the robber, which he left on his cell phone at the scene of the crime.
Upon quickly leaving the home, one of the men dropped his cell phone. The phone also contained several pictures of Scano Sinclair himself, as well as several photos of Sinclair’s vehicle. When shown the pictures, the female victim was able to identify Sinclair as being one of the men who had broken in to her home. This allowed police to confirm his identity. The photos of the vehicle were also matched to surveillance videos that caught the same vehicle leaving the victim’s apartment complex.
In an oddly related twist, it’s reported that Scano Sinclair had also attempted to rob the victim’s boyfriend, at a home on Shoma Drive in Palm Beach County two weeks earlier. However, that robbery attempt was unsuccessful. The victim’s boyfriend didn’t report the crime until his girlfriend was targeted in this robbery. Due to the nature of both robberies being home invasions, police believe that they were not coincidental, and the victim was targeted on purpose. Police have commented that they do not suspect the female victim, or her boyfriend of any criminal activity that could have led to the robberies.
With the provided evidence, police were able to trace the vehicle to Scano Sinclair’s address in Miramar, Florida on the 1800th block of Southwest 103rd Ave.
It’s very fortunate for both victims that the thief dropped his cell phone, which allowed police to gain a lead in this case. However, it’s important to remember that you can’t always rely on the stupidity of criminals to give you the advantage. The best way to prevent ever being in a compromising situation is to take measures to protect yourself from any type of intrusion. This includes installing high-security deadbolt locks, purchasing a monitored security system, and surrounding your home with motion-activated security lighting.
Anyone with information about Sinclair’s whereabouts can contact BSO Robbery Detective Tony Hierrezuelo at 954-321-4270, or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Broward County at 954-493-TIPS or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org.
Sources:
http://sheriff.org/about_bso/admin/media/newsdetails.cfm?pk=2979&sType=M
http://www.wpbf.com/news/21428686/detail.html
