Police nab kayak theft suspects

Longboat Key police may have helped stop a crime wave when they arrested two Sarasota men for the theft of a kayak.

Police allege that on May 4, Brandon Cole Anderson, 31, and Nathan Lee Barnes, 32, both of Sarasota, stole a $600 two-person kayak that was hanging from inside the carport of a home in the 500 block of Neptune Avenue. 

Using the license-plate camera recognition system that’s in place on both ends of the Key, police pinpointed a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck that traveled onto the south end of the island without a kayak at 6:30 p.m. and left approximately two-and-a-half hours later with a yellow kayak in the back.

Police then examined pawn shop records to find a kayak matching the description at a Sarasota pawn shop. 

Barnes allegedly pawned the kayak 26 minutes after the camera system clicked a photo of the truck leaving the south end.

Detective Sgt. Robert Bourque learned Barnes and Anderson were arrested on May 12 for a paddleboard theft and drove to the Manatee County Jail to read Barnes his Miranda rights for the Key kayak burglary.

Bourque sought a warrant for Barnes’ arrest May 12 and received it the next day. 

“They were combing the streets looking for something to steal,” Bourque said. “One of them admitted they are roommates, and both have a heroin problem. They would drive all day to support their habit throughout the two-county area.”

Anderson was later charged with burglary and grand theft in relation to the kayak theft. Barnes was also charged with dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawn broker in the city of Sarasota for the kayak theft. 

Bourque said the Longboat and Manatee County arrest warrants led to “a ton more burglary charges being brought against both suspects.”

Multiple additional theft charges have been filed against both suspects stemming from crimes in the cities of Sarasota and Bradenton and Sarasota County. 

“It was a good catch for the island and the surrounding area to get them both off the streets,” Bourque said. 

Both Anderson and Barnes remain in custody at the Manatee County Jail.