BY Shirley Hatch, Branford News Publisher

More than $43,000 worth of stolen property has been recovered in a theft ring that covers Suwannee, Lafayette, and Hillsborough Counties according to Sgt. John Young of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). According to Young arrests of Branford and Mayo community residents are forth coming. Ernest Joseph Sendoya, 25, of Tampa was arrested in conjunction with the thefts, and has been questioned by authorities about property stolen in the Branford and Mayo communities.



Lafayette County Sheriff Carson McCall said the case can be traced back to the July 7 theft of ATVs from two areas of the rural North Florida county. They were both found in Hillsborough County on Dec. 9.



“When our two agencies got together to investigate this, we found a theft ring where items stolen from our county were being sold in Hillsborough County and items stolen in Hillsborough County were being sold back up here,” McCall said.



Between Dec. 9 and Friday deputies recovered more than $43,000 worth of stolen property in Lafayette County alone and were continuing to follow leads on where to find additional stolen items in both counties.



When questioned about thefts in the Lafayette, Suwannee area, “Sendoya did confess to thefts in these areas,” Sheriff McCall said.



Officials said the likely reason the two counties were scenes of the alleged crimes was that Sendoya was living in Hillsborough County and visited Lafayette County and was familiar with the area.



Investigators said the stolen items were sold directly to individuals, not through pawn shops or flea markets.



McCall, and officials in the Hillsborough County area say they expect to make more arrests in the case and to recover more stolen property.



According to information, Sendoya was already on probation for thefts he committed in 2000 and 2001 in Hillsborough County.



D. J.’s Bargain Barn located on Highway 27 near Branford may have been one of the first places hit by theft, according to a release from the LCSO.



According to Lafayette officials Sendoya confessed to thefts that occurred in Lafayette County as well as the theft of a 4 wheeler, lawn mower and a trailer that occurred near Branford.



McCall stated that both his and Hillsborough county investigators are still working the case and multiple arrests are expected in the near future.