Category: Crime

Three residents of the same apartment (southeast of the corner of 441 and SW 3rd) were arrested on Wednesday for burglary and larceny.
Alessandro Ribeiro Da Cruz (37) was charged with one count each of burglary and grand theft. Valeria Claudio (41) and Claudemire Marcal Da Costa (32)were each charged with three counts of burglary and one count of grand theft. We can’t say for sure but the names appear to be Brazilian.

Warren Redlich, founder of West Boca News, is a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer who handles cases in Florida and New York. He can be reached at 888-RED-LAWYER (888-733-5299), or by e-mail at [email protected]. All arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.

This is at least the third time we’ve reported on arrestees residing in the Belaire apartments. Bond has been set for each, with Ribeiro Da Cruz set the lowest at $30K. The other two, due to the extra counts, face bond of $80K. Per court records, the alleged burglaries took place on March 5th. We don’t see any prior charges for any of them in the county.
Update: The Sun-Sentinel has a story on this with more detail. Apparently the three allegedly went into a neighbor’s apartment and stole various electronic devices. Because two of them allegedly entered that apartment three times, they were charged with three counts.

In other arrest news, Jami Garber (33) was arrested Wednesday for allegedly practicing dietetics without a license and dispensing prescription drugs without a license. It appears she may be getting child support from one man in Lake Worth, had a property dispute with another man in Lake Worth, and currently resides in the American Homes subdivision in a house owned by another woman. Ms. Garber has had several cases in the courts dating back to 2007, mostly traffic tickets of varying severity.
Michael Fox (21) was arrested late Sunday night or early Monday morning for driving without a valid license. That’s not something they’d usually arrest you for. This appears to be the same Michael Fox who did a few months in jail back in 2011 for burglarizing a car and fraudulent use of a credit card, and a few more months in 2010 for grand theft and firearms charges. The latter charge was treated as a youthful offender. A history of felony convictions might explain the arrest.
Fox’s reported address in the Timbers of Boca (off Lyons south of Glades) is very close to Tony Neterer, who was just arrested from a serious DUI accident near Boca West.
Brittany Blomberg (22) was booked early this morning for possession of cocaine and drug equipment. She appears to be a Boca High grad, and lives in a home owned by a woman old enough to be her mother. The house is in the city but close to what we call West Boca, and the arrest was made by the Sheriff suggesting it occurred outside city lines.

The most common offense we see arrests for is battery, and we have two of those to report. Stefany Maldonado (19) was arrested Monday and released the next day. Her reported address is just north of the Belaire apartments mentioned earlier. Court records show this as a domestic violence incident. She appears to be Peruvian and not happy with her teachers at Olympic Heights:

Rashad McNair (18) was booked early Wednesday, and his case is not marked as domestic. An aspiring rapper, Mr. McNair’s address is just east of Boca Dunes (Lyons between Palmetto and SW 18th). We did find a most interesting selfie, and we’re not really sure if there’s symbolism in this or it’s just silly. He also appears to be friends with at least one of our previous arrestees from Spanish River High.
Update: Per the Sun-Sentinel, McNair attacked his father in a dispute over turning off the TV.

Just south of Belaire Apartments lies the Rosewood apartments, home to Mr. Curtis Hamilton (above left, 17). Mr. Hamilton was arrested on Tuesday and has not yet been released. The charges are hefty: Robbery with a firearm, kidnapping/false imprisonment, aggravated battery causing bodily harm, and underage possession of a firearm. The incident that led to this arrest dates back to July of 2013, and several other young men were arrested then, apparently all connected to Olympic Heights High School. You can read more about the story in the Palm Beach Post. The delay in arresting Mr. Hamilton suggests it may be a tough case to prove against him.
Our last arrestee is Mr. Kunal Rungta (18). He’s accused of retail theft and was arrested by Boynton Beach police. A Spanish River student, Mr. Rungta appears to be a fan of video games and marijuana, though we don’t think either were involved in the alleged theft.

In late February we posted about vehicle break-ins in Saturnia Isles on our West Boca News Facebook page:

PBSO deputies seem to have cracked that one. They arrested West Boca’s Patrick Soares (below right, 17) along with Luis Gonzalez-Vinces (left, 19) of the Pine Ridge neighborhood in Delray Beach.

Soares is a resident of Boca Isles North, and is charged with two fraud counts. He is reportedly a former student of Olympic Heights. Gonzalez-Vinces, a current student there, faces more charges. More details can be found in the Sun-Sentinel. They also had an article a few months ago covering Soares personal history and the efforts of a West Boca family to help him. The two have no significant criminal history but Soares did pile up a few traffic tickets in the past year.

Jason Whalen (above left, 24) was arrested for DUI in the city of Boca Raton early Wednesday morning. His reported address is in The Lakes of Boca Raton, northwest of the intersection of Yamato and Cain. If we’ve got the right guy, he is a graduate of West Boca High, played baseball for Hillsborough Community College, got a scholarship to play for the University of Tampa, but played instead for Lynn University.
Charles DiGiovanni (above right, 59) was arrested early this morning for DUI by Boca city police. He is listed as a resident of Boca Isles North. Court records show a DUI charge in 2010 with probation revoked in 2011. The current charge does not show up yet in court records.
Three area residents were arrested for battery and/or related charges. Jong Park (above left, 37) was arrested Tuesday morning. His reported address is in Meadow Lakes. Other media reported that he threw a toaster at his wife and pulled her hair when she wasn’t in the mood.
Kayla LoPresto (above center, 26) was arrested on Friday evening. Her reported address is near the corner of Sandalfoot and Tradewinds. She scores points for sticking out her tongue in this picture and she apparently made a name for herself recently as a Tampa homewrecker.
Preston Mallett (above right, 30) was arrested for battery and witness tampering on Saturday. His reported address is in the Lakes at Boca Raton making Cain Blvd. the winner in this week’s arrest report. Perennial contender Sandalfoot might have won if Jews flying a KKK flag from their trailer was an actual crime instead of merely a crime against sanity.
Mallett (possibly spelled Mallet) might just be a Cajun, a fan of LSU and the Saints, and of the popular Glock line of handguns.

Other likes include Duck Dynasty, legalizing marijuana, Budweiser and bikini bowfishing. We’re starting to like this guy.

Curtis Sanderbeck (above left, 43) was arrested early Thursday for a county ordinance violation and an out-of-county warrant, possibly from Broward. His reported address is on Sandalfoot Blvd. He’s still being held on a $100 bond for that warrant. Court records show several cases for him dating back to 2009.
Amanda Helwig (right, 28) was arrested around the same time by the deputies for driving with a suspended or revoked license, some kind of fraud, and failure to appear. Court records date the fraud/forgery charge back to 2006, which we suspect will be awfully hard to prove. Her reported address is east of the FAU campus but a PBSO arrest suggests the stop occurred outside the city. Helwig appears to be a Boca High grad and may be related to Spanish River’s Brooke Helwig, who appeared on West Boca News in January.

Atila DeAraujo (17) was arrested Monday evening by deputies for two counts of robbery with a firearm. He remains in jail awaiting a $50,000 bond on each count. His father and sister appeared in court on the 5th when bond was set, and he was assigned a public defender.
Mr. DeAraujo appears to be a student at Boca High. His reported address is in East Boca, but the arrest was by deputies suggesting the offense took place outside city lines.

The most serious arrest of the weekend involves John E. Bolden, just past his 22nd birthday. He was arrested on Sunday evening for “Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon”, along with battery. Court records show both as domestic violence. Despite what appear to be such serious charges, he was released under supervision but without having to post a bond. The fact that he was released in this way, along with no criminal history we can find, suggests his case will be resolved without serious consequences.
Bolden’s reported address is in the Boca Greens Country Club, in a house that appears to be owned by his mother, who might be a real estate agent.

Three other people were charged with battery this weekend. Gabriel Rezende (above left, 18) was arrested on the 1st and released on the 2nd. He appears to have another pending battery case from December that is still open. His reported address is in the southeast corner of the Boca Winds development, with a backyard up against the canal. The home appears to be rented from investors who live in Utah. Rezende could be a Venezuelan name. We also saw a marijuana arrestee in the city of Boca Raton with the same last name from this weekend.
Maria Blume (2nd from left, 60) was arrested Saturday for battery. It is listed as a domestic in court records and they show a previous domestic battery from a year ago that was dropped by prosecutors. Her reported address is a bit northwest of the Boca Rio/SW 18th intersection. She was released Sunday afternoon without bond or supervision.
On the right, approaching his 46th birthday is William (Bill?) Eltringham. He’s also accused of battery, arrested on Sunday and released on Monday afternoon. Court records also list this as domestic, and show a prior domestic incident from 2009, the resolution of which is unclear. Mr. Eltringham might be associated with a company engaged in international trade related to cookware. His reported address is east of 441 near the West Boca Library.
Dean Tourin (above left, 26) was arrested on multiple counts including grand theft, illegal credit card use, and possession of drug equipment. Unusually for those latter charges, there are no charges for possession of actual drugs. Mr. Tourin was arrested late Saturday or early Sunday and released on bond Sunday before noon. His reported address is east of Federal Highway but the arrest was made by the Sheriff suggesting it happened outside the city.
Mr. Tourin appears to work in area restaurants and also may be a New York Giants football fan. We see no prior criminal history.
Above right, Michael McCarthy (29) was arrested Monday on several mostly minor charges but also for grand theft. He has a few open traffic cases and it looks like he failed to appear on some of them, which calls for a public service announcement from West Boca News:

ALWAYS SHOW UP FOR YOUR TRAFFIC CASES
Mr. McCarthy’s reported address is just north of the YMCA in a house that appears to be owned by his parents, and he may be an FAU grad.
Brandon Pavao (above left, 30) was arrested Sunday morning by city police for an allegedly unlawful blood alcohol content DUI, and released 5 hours later. His reported address is near Diego north of Glades in Mission Bay, in a house owned by his parents. He may be an FAU graduate and a fan of the Miami Hurricanes.
Above right is Jessica Pugliese (35), of Sandalfoot Cove. She was arrested Monday for heroin possession and has not been released yet. Bond is set at $5000. She may be a graduate of Spanish River High, and yet she is from Pittsburgh and remains a Steeler fan.
Ms. Pugliese has had a few previous charges, including 3 felonies, in the Palm Beach courts, and may once have been arrested in 2012 on an “out-of-county warrant”. She also had a drug felony charge in Broward back in 2011, which could be related to that out of county warrant arrest.