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Authorities in Jacksonville have charged 68-year-old Arthur Virgil with at least ten counts of burglary, implicating him in a series of break-ins targeting local businesses, as reported by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Residents of Jacksonville, Florida, learned that Virgil was apprehended on October 21, though law enforcement had been on the lookout for a suspect fitting his description for several weeks prior.
According to the arrest documents, officers were called to Toscana Little Italy in Miramar during the early hours of October 9 following a burglary report. The establishment’s front glass door had been smashed with a concrete block, leading to the theft of the cash register’s contents. This wasn’t an isolated incident in the shopping plaza. Surveillance footage revealed that the same individual, later identified as Virgil, had also targeted I & C Cleaners, using the same concrete block to break in and steal money.
As the investigation unfolded, detectives began monitoring a vehicle linked to the crime scenes. This surveillance paid off when officers observed the same car leaving the site of a fresh burglary on October 21. New Dragon, a Chinese eatery on the Northside, suffered similar damages with a shattered glass door and missing cash, according to the police report.
During its investigation, JSO said it began tracking the vehicle believed to have been at the scene of the crimes. These efforts led police to the same car, leaving a new burglary scene on Oct. 21. New Dragon, a Northside Chinese restaurant, also had its glass broken and cash box stolen, JSO said.
Officers reportedly stopped Virgil as he drove from the scene, and New Dragon’s cash box was found inside the car. The reporting officer concluded he was arrested in the same clothes as seen in the surveillance video of the scene at I & C Cleaners.
“As our detectives investigated, they continued to receive reports of similar break ins at family-owned spots across the city,” the agency wrote on social media.
First Coast News has requested the new, additional arrest reports to clarify which other businesses police believe he burglarized.
Court records show that this is not the first time Virgil has been charged with such crimes. In 2010, he was found guilty of three burglary charges and sentenced to prison. JSO described them as being “smash-and-grabs” similar to these incidents.
Virgil is scheduled for his next court hearing on Nov. 25.
