A Florida man was arrested Thursday in connection with eight car burglaries after leaving a trail of blood in a Palm Beach neighborhood, police said.
Tyler Longwell, 33, of West Palm Beach faces charges of burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief in the string of burglaries that happened in August, according to the Palm Beach Police Department.
Police officers responded on the morning of Aug. 11 after a woman reported that the front window of her car was smashed, and her Gucci sunglasses and Sunpass were stolen, according to the Palm Beach Post report.
The crime scene matched seven other car burglaries in the same neighborhood — including three in which Longwell was caught on surveillance video, and two in which blood was found inside the vehicles, the arrest report states.
Surveillance video from the homes showed Longwell wearing a light-colored hoodie, light-colored shorts, sneakers and dark socks. Investigators collected blood samples from the two cars, and testing revealed the presence of Longwell’s DNA.
Officers went to Longwell's home in West Palm Beach on Sept. 21 with a search warrant and questioned him, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Longwell told officers that he did not recall the burglaries because of his “excessive drug use,” the police report stated. When asked about the blood in the two vehicles, Longwell said “he must have been the one responsible” but still did not recall the incidents. He also said any items he took were sold to drug dealers in exchange for drugs.
Longwell remains at the Palm Beach County Jail on a $49,000 bail, according to jail records.
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