CRESTVIEW – “Frog” says he did not burglarize a vehicle on Hathaway Street, but lawmen disagree and say he hopped from the frying pan into the fire when he used a plastic bag to open the passenger door and rummage through the vehicle’s contents.
Frog, aka Robert Lee Williams, 61, of Bay Street, was implicated in the crime by way of video surveillance set up by a frustrated theft victim who told Crestview Police his vehicle and his house had been broken into multiple times. The man told officers he set up a video camera to photograph whoever was behind the dirty deeds.
On April 27 the man set up the camera about 8:30 p.m. and left the passenger door of his Ford unlocked. The next morning he discovered his vehicle had been broken into again.
He retrieved the video camera and almost 5 hours into the coverage saw a man fitting Williams’ description come out of the darkness and approach the driver’s side of the Ford. The person used a cigarette lighter to illuminate the driver-side compartment, then walked around to the passenger side. An officer who reviewed the video noticed the prowler was wearing blue jeans, a jacket with a longer shirt, and a desert-camo hat. The officer noticed a large stain on the lower left shirttail.
The suspect used a plastic bag over his hand to carefully open the door, keeping it from squeaking, which suggested to the officer the lurker knew the door would squeak. He rummaged through the vehicle for a few moments, then withdrew and gently shut the door.
An officer spoke to Williams and noticed he was wearing the same style hat, shirt and pants as the person in the video. Later, after the officer obtained possession of the footage, he took Williams into custody and revealed he’d seen video of somebody who appeared to be Williams entering the Ford. Williams denied the break-in, but the officer noticed Williams’ shirt had the same stain as the shirt in the video.
On the way to jail, Williams got to see the video. He asked the officer, “How you gonna write this up?” and was told the charge would be burglary. Williams responded, “I didn’t take nothing” and refused to admit to the crime.
Still, he was charged burglary to a vehicle, and will report to court on June 11.
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'Frog' says he didn't break into vehicle; police disagree
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