Key Largo – A man arrested for stealing people’s property from a hotel beach in Key Largo while they swam in the water faces more charges.
22 year old Sterling Brower was arrested Friday after he was spotted stealing items from the beach at the Hilton Hotel in Key Largo. He fled from the beach as employees called the Sheriff’s office. He was seen placing stolen items into the trunk of a Mercedes in the parking lot before fleeing the area on foot.
Brower was found on an adjacent property and was initially charged with three counts of grand theft and resisting arrest.
Detectives responded to the scene and obtained a search warrant for the trunk of the car. Inside they found property belonging to people who were on the hotel beach. They also found property belonging to the victims of a vehicle burglary which took place earlier in the day.
Two men having lunch at Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen in Key Largo returned to their vehicle Friday afternoon to find their bags missing from inside. Items stolen from their vehicle were also found in Brower’s trunk.
Brower was additionally charged with burglary and grand theft in connection with the vehicle burglary.