Our latest report covers 13 people who visited the Sheriff’s facility on Gun Club Road in the past week or so.
Bridgette Evans is facing felony fraud charges for allegedly stealing $180,000 from a victim in her 60s. Evans posed as a “Master Love Psychic” named Kyra Chase. She took money and jewelry ($90K each) from the victim, supposedly to “cleanse” it of evil spirits after which she would return it to the victim. The victim was vulnerable due to family issues.
The probable cause affidavit indicates at least two more victims, one of whom decided not to let Evans have the money, and another who was defrauded out of over $200,000. The latter case is still under investigation.
Evans and the victim both have East Boca addresses. Evans also faces extradition to Houston Texas for felony theft over $300,000. She was also arrested in both 2000 ad 2011 for wire fraud and grand theft using similar scams, with a 37-month prison sentence from the 2011 case.
Frederick Elizondo was arrested by deputies for felony burglary as well as simple battery arising out of an incident in mid-January. Elizondo, a resident of the Watergate Estates trailer park in West Sandalfoot, allegedly forced his way into another trailer while drunk, searching for his girlfriend (who wasn’t there) and threatened to “torch” the place.
Elizondo has a substantial history including 11 felony counts – mostly economic crimes – in Broward from 2016 as well as a 2017 felony count in Palm Beach County for resisting an officer with violence.
Carolyn Bergakker is charged with welfare fraud and organized scheme to defraud. She allegedly stole her neighbor’s EBT card, using it for fraudulent purchases at three different grocery stores in West Boca. The total stolen was just under $500. Both Bergakker and her neighbor live in Watergate Estates.
Another resident of the Watergate Estates trailer park, Robert Thomas Smith (above center), was arrested for marijuana and drug possession. This is another in a series of arrests from the same warrant at the same trailer on 228th Lane South. Deputies found marijuana, THC oil, and hydrocodone pills.
We see two previous misdemeanor cases for Smith in the county, domestic battery in 2017 and marijuana in 2018. Not bad for a 20-year-old. We don’t see anything in Broward but it’s hard to search for the name Robert Smith because there are so many people with that name.
Alexander Gilman and Quinton Cole both face charges of heroin possession. They were arrested together after police observed a suspected drug buy in the Walmart parking lot off Palmetto and 441. Gilman lives in Boca Landings near Doris Market, while Cole lives in Boca River Circle near the Glades Road Library.
Court records show 7 felony cases in Palm Beach and 1 in Broward for Gilman. Cole shows 4 felony cases here and 3 more in Broward.
Five people were arrested on battery charges recently. Albert Sanchez (SW 54th Way in Sandalfoot Cove) leads off with domestic battery by strangulation. Sanchez is accused of choking one of his step-daughters with two hands when she tried to get him to stop pushing her mother. After the daughter’s boyfriend stepped in, Sanchez hit him in the face. The mother denies that anything happened. We don’t see any other cases for Mr. Sanchez, but it is another difficult name for searches
Brian Spotts (Watergate Estates) faces a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. Court records show two previous non-criminal domestic violence cases from 2011 and 2012.
Ariela Halpern (Woodhaven subdivision of Boca Del Mar) is accused by her ex-boyfriend and his roommate. They claim she burst into their home, threw objects including a coffee mug (hitting the roommate) and bit the ex-boyfriend in the thigh, and more.
A year earlier she was charged with assault for throwing a piece of wood at her neighbor when she and the now-ex-boyfriend lived in Watergate Estates. They were mad at the neighbor for his loud motorcycle and were also accused of having damaged his American and Confederate flags. And we’re not talking about the Sandalfoot KKK guy.
Derik Gearing is accused of simple battery for grabbing his girlfriend’s wrist during an argument over a cell phone, with no reported injury. Reading the probable cause affidavit this one a criminal charge seems a bit over the top.
Broward court records show several cases for Gearing including domestic violence, aggravated assault, burglary, drugs and more, all over a long period from 1999 to 2014. He served a fairly brief prison term in 2006, though the official sentence was 2 years.
Lucas Santos-Carvalho (The Isle in Mission Bay) was accused of hitting and choking his stepmother in an argument over a cell phone, car keys and documents. He has a previous domestic battery case from 2017.
Josiah Vitollo and Roody Colin were picked up on warrants. Vitollo has already been delivered to Osceola County (Kissimmee). This looks like one of the dumber things we’ve seen. In 2015 he was sentenced to 6 months probation on a fairly minor traffic offense (unlicensed driver – not even a suspension). He failed to follow through on some pretty easy probation conditions and for that he got a free trip back there in what are usually very uncomfortable circumstances.
Last and probably least, Barney Brown was arrested on a municipal ordinance violation for having an open container. He has had numerous minor cases in our local courts over the past 4 years or so. His reported address is in Watergate Estates.
