News and Investigations

Polk County Sheriff's Deputies arrested two men early Tuesday morning, May 20th, during a burglary investigation on Pickerel Court in Kissimmee.

Deputies responded to a report of suspicious activity involving three individuals who were spotted flipping car door handles. Home surveillance footage captured the suspects wearing dark clothing, ski masks, and gloves, and carrying a red tool bag. The video also showed them attempting to open the door handles of a black Chevrolet truck before getting into a white Nissan Maxima and fleeing the scene. 

Deputies quickly set up a perimeter, including drones, the helicopter, and a K-9 Unit, and began their search. A deputy then spotted the white Nissan Maxima making a right-hand turn off Lake Marion Creek Road onto Marigold Avenue. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and detained two suspects, identified as 18-year-old Joshua Mahase and 19-year-old Julian Cortez. Detectives are working to identify the third suspect.

During a search of the Nissan, deputies discovered clothing in the back seat matching that of the suspects in the video, along with a red burglary tool bag, a black ski mask, and leather gloves. Deputies also located marijuana, multiple driver’s licenses, passports, and debit/credit cards that did not belong to the suspects. Neither suspect possessed a medical marijuana card.

Mahase admitted to targeting unlocked vehicles and disclosed the specific areas where the break-ins occurred. He also provided details on additional burglaries. Through further investigation, detectives linked the suspects to 20 previously reported burglaries during a six-week time span, and they were charged accordingly.

“Thanks to the citizen who saw something, and said something, we were able to quickly respond and stop these brazen thieves and their criminal enterprise. For over a month they’ve been victimizing citizens who are sleeping peacefully in the northeast area of our county, breaking into their cars and stealing their stuff. And now they’re facing very serious felonies. This is also a great reminder to you all to lock your car doors.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Mahase and Cortez were charged with: Possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, maintaining a vehicle for drug use, and possession of stolen IDs (9 counts), grand theft – firearm, conspiracy to commit fraud (10 counts), conspiracy to commit grand theft, fraudulent use of credit/debit card (3 counts), possession of burglary tools (20 counts), petit theft (19 counts), Unlawful possession of personal ID 5 or more, armed burglary conveyance, conspiracy to commit burglary conveyance (20 counts), and burglary unoccupied unarmed conveyance (19 counts).