Sanford cops launch probe after theft of 2 guns, badge

Sanford police launched an internal investigation after guns, gear and a badge were stolen Saturday afternoon from a detective’s cruiser while it was parked at a softball field in DeBary.

The items — including two guns, a handcuff key and a bulletproof vest — were still missing as of Monday. Guns are a popular item among thieves who target law-enforcement officials.

Earlier this month, thieves robbed a retired FBI agent of his credentials and gun while he napped inside his car outside a business in Altamonte Springs. And in a six-month span last year, there were at least three separate incidents of guns disappearing from law enforcement vehicles in Central Florida.

Two of the incidents involved Orange County deputies and the other a Winter Park police officer. It’s unclear if any of the weapons stolen in those cases were found. How often law enforcement vehicles are burglarized isn’t known, as agencies rarely alert the public.

Sanford police released information about the incident on Saturday as a public safety notice, saying a statement that residents “should be aware of the possibility of police impersonation.”

Volusia deputies, who are investigating the burglary, said it was one of two reported that afternoon at Rob Sullivan Park in DeBary.

The Sanford detective was at the softball fields about 1 p.m. attending a tournament when someone smashed a back window on his silver Ford Explorer, police said. The SUV was parked among other vehicles and was locked at the time.

After shattering the window, someone grabbed the detective’s department-issued Sig Sauer pistol, his personally-owned Remington 870 shotgun, body armor, a handcuff key, a stungun cartridge, radio microphone and his law-enforcement badge. The items have a combined estimated value of more than $3,400, the report states.