Information obtained from a pair of “car hoppers” jailed last month helped law enforcement track down an 18-year-old Eustis man who allegedly stole an iPad and gas card from a vehicle back in March.
Nicholai Cosden Cloud, of 903 Hill St., was charged with burglary to an unoccupied conveyance and grand theft in connection with a vehicle burglary March 27 outside a residence on Oak Brook Lane in Eustis. Additional charges for other burglaries were added, and Cloud remains held in the Lake County Jail on $44,000 bond.
The stolen iPad was later recovered by the owner of a property on East Washington Avenue, along with marijuana and a Ruger handgun magazine. The iPad had a black hand strap on it, according to the arrest affidavit.
The investigation was stalled until June 16, when Casey Johnson and Matthew Hanners were arrested by Eustis police and charged with breaking into cars in the Brookshire neighborhood of Eustis. Officers discovered Johnson had a loaded Ruger pistol along with burglary tools. A police detective interviewed Johnson and Hanners about an increase in burglaries in the area, the affidavit said.
Hanners told the detective he didn’t remember the date, but that he, Johnson and Hanners went car hopping in the Misty Oaks neighborhood and that Cloud got into a truck and found a tablet with a hand strap on it. The teens continued car hopping and found a knife, loose change, car charges and a necklace. Hanners said that may have been the time Johnson found several guns. He said while they were walking back to his house, they became alarmed by something and hid the tablet in a garage on East Washington Avenue, according to the affidavit.
The detective researched previous burglary reports in Misty Oaks and found several that happened March 27-28. Among the stolen items were the iPad and Exxon gas card, two knives and loose change, gift cards and a necklace, and a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun, the affidavit said.
On July 6, the detective found Cloud in Ferran Park and said he wanted to talk about when Cloud went car hopping with Johnson and Hanners in Misty Oaks. Cloud said he had another case going on where he was arrested for having stolen guns in his vehicle. He said he wouldn’t answer any questions because he didn’t want it to affect his current case. Cloud told the detective he was going to court in the coming week and would talk to him afterwards. As of July 8, he hadn’t contacted the detective, according to the affidavit.
Based on evidence and statements, a warrant was issued and Cloud was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Tavares on July 9.