Teen suspected in 50-70 car burglaries

A Miramar man has confessed to breaking into more than 50 cars, according to a judge’s comments Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent caught Omar Malik Bautista, 18, and an underage friend before sunrise Tuesday as they were rummaging inside a woman’s white Nissan Altima in Pembroke Pines, police said.

The break-in happened in the 700 block of Southwest 122nd Terrace, south of Pines Boulevard and east of South Flamingo Road, an arrest report said. The ICE agent detained Bautista and the minor until Pembroke Pines police arrived.

Bautista is also being investigated in connection with car burglaries in Miramar.

During a bond court hearing Wednesday which Bautista’s mother and grandparents attended, Judge John D. Fry read from a Miramar police report.

“It says the defendant did provide a confession admitting he entered the Melrose Point community [in Miramar] and committed 50 to 70 automobile burglaries between July 26 and July 27,” Fry said. “There is a whole bunch of stuff going on here which causes me, obviously, some concern.”

So far, Miramar police have only two victims from the Melrose Point neighborhood who have reported car burglaries on those dates, spokeswoman Tania Rues said. Bautista had one of those car owner’s checkbooks with him when he was arrested in Pembroke Pines, Miramar police said.

Fry ordered a $2,000 bond and home detention with an ankle monitor for Bautista, which will allow him to attend school or visit a doctor or attorney if he gets out of jail.

Fry said to Bautista, “If you mess this up, you’re gonna be sitting in there, no bond, every single day. Your mother and grandparents are here. They’re destroyed because of this. Don’t mess it up. Good luck.”

Bautista, who does not have a criminal history, replied, “Thank you.”

Bautista is accused of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child and two counts, burglary of unoccupied cars in Pembroke Pines. In Miramar, he faces charges of two burglaries of unoccupied cars and petit theft.

“I’m trusting you to assist me to keep your son out of jail,” Fry told the family. “’Cause as soon as he wanders off, [the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s pre-trial monitoring system] is gonna alert, and he’s going right back to jail.”

Miramar police said anyone with information about car burglaries in the Melrose Point neighborhood should call 954-602-4000.