A 16-year-old boy accused of participating in a string of vehicle burglaries in Flagler County will be charged as an adult, prosecutors announced on Wednesday. Suwannee County resident Alan Jaramillo-Hernandez is accused of having stolen from several vehicles in west Flagler County overnight from Thursday, August 28th to Friday, August 29th.
An investigation into the robberies would eventually culminate in a cooperative effort between the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. Jaramillo-Hernandez was arrested on September 16th in Suwannee County on a Flagler County warrant. He’s been charged with five counts of armed burglary, five counts of grand theft of a firearm, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, and burglary of an occupied dwelling.
“This is yet another tragic example of teens making a series of bad decisions that have life-changing adult consequences,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly about the case. “I thank State Attorney RJ Larizza for filing these charges in the adult court. This young man found out the hard way that we don’t play around in Flagler County, and he and his other criminal associates that were also arrested should have never driven two hours to victimize our residents.”
In the burglaries, Jaramillo-Hernandez is alleged to have acted along with three other suspects: 19-year-old Lucas Rebolledo, 18-year-old Dwayne Ryan, and 18-year-old Angel Jaramillo-Hernandez. All four suspects are residents of Live Oak, and the other three were arrested on August 29th. The group – who are also accused of other recent burglaries in Georgia – are alleged to have stolen wallets, purses, five firearms, and a cell phone.
The case is set to be presided over by Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols. Jaramillo-Hernandez, meanwhile, has been held in custody in Volusia County since his September arrest. Judge Nichols signed an order on Monday for the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center to turn over custody of Jaramillo-Hernandez to Flagler County. The teenager was not given bond for his charges.
“While it’s disappointing to see someone so young choose the wrong path, perhaps it’ll serve as a lesson for others to change course before they get arrested and prosecuted as an adult, too,” Staly continued. “I also again commend our team for quickly solving these cases.”
