A Big Pine man is in jail charged with burglarizing the Ace Hardware store on Big Pine Key. The burglary was reported the morning of Jan. 23 after the owner arrived at work and found damage to a door and window and his computer missing.
Deputies Richard Wang and Freddy Rodriguez responded to the business to take a report. While there, they spoke with a woman who lives in an apartment above the business. She said at 5:30 a.m. that morning, she heard pounding on the downstairs doors. She then heard someone walk upstairs and begin hitting and kicking her apartment door. Her door was dented, but the suspect was unable to gain entry.
Deputy Rodriguez obtained a photo of a possible suspect from a surveillance camera at the hardware store. He showed it to employees of surrounding businesses. The following day, Deputy Rodriguez got a call from an employee of a nearby convenience store. She gave him a vehicle tag number and said the person he was looking for just came in the store and was driving the car with that tag number on it.
Detective John Gabay was assigned to investigate. He spoke with the witness who gave him further information, describing the suspect in detail, including a tattoo the suspect has on his upper right arm that says “Jax Beach.”
Detective Gabay and Detective Sgt. David Smith went to the suspect’s residence on Hibiscus Street, Big Pine Key. They spoke with the suspect, identified as William Trey Maxwell, 25. Maxwell has a tattoo on his arm fitting the description given by the witness. At first, he claimed he’d been in Jacksonville visiting his mother in the hospital when the crime occurred. Detectives followed up, talking with his mother, who lives in Neptune Beach. She told the detectives her son was not visiting her in the hospital. She said she hadn’t been in the hospital. She also said her son has a drug problem and has problems telling the truth.
Maxwell was arrested and was charged with burglary to the business, attempted burglary to the apartment, criminal mischief for the damage he did to the building, possession of burglary tools – in surveillance footage he is seen carrying a large pipe wrench during the burglary; and grand theft.
Maxwell was booked into jail.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.