Holmes Beach police arrested North Carolina resident Baryn Helbing, 19, April 12 on five felony charges for burglary, grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.
Charges include a second-degree felony for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, a third-degree felony for grand theft of a motor vehicle, two third-degree felonies for burglary, as well as a third-degree felony for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
The arrest allegedly ended a two-day crime spree across the island city.
A woman called the Holmes Beach Police Department around 2 p.m. April 10 to report that a low-speed vehicle she rented went missing from the property where she was staying in the 100 block of 49th Street.
She said she contacted Anna Maria Golf Carts about the missing vehicle and the rental agency provided a GPS reading of the LSV’s location at 3201 E. Bay Drive.
The woman said she went to the location, where “an unknown … male was seen by the cart and when approached … left the area by jumping the fence,” according to a report.
She took a photo of the man before he left the area and retrieved the LSV.
However, a police search of the area failed to find the man.
Around 8 p.m. April 10, an officer responded to reports of a stolen electric bicycle worth about $1,500 from a property in the 5100 block of Fifth Avenue.
The complainants said they first found an abandoned bike outside around 5 p.m., then went inside to discover the electric bike was missing from the garage.
The officer dusted the abandoned bike for fingerprints but found none and no nearby security cameras caught footage of the incident.
The police caught a break the next day when a woman called the HBPD to report her bike, which matched the one that was abandoned the day before, was missing from outside the property where her family was staying in the 3200 block of Sixth Avenue.
The complainant said she contacted the property’s rental agency, which provided video of the incident.
“She showed the video of the suspect taking the bicycle on 4/10/23, at approximately 1142 (hours). The video was clear and the suspect appeared to be the suspect from the stolen golf cart incident on 4/10/23. The bicycle in question was found to be the bicycle that had been found and placed into HBPD bicycle barn for safekeeping,” a report reads.
Around 1 p.m. April 12, an officer found the man riding the stolen electric bike and followed him to where he parked outside Hurricane Hanks, 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.
There, the officer approached the man, identified as Helbing, with his stun gun drawn and issued verbal commands before handcuffing the man.
The victim of the electric bike theft was contacted and responded to the scene, where he identified the bike as his.
Helbing told police he found the bike on the beach near a pier “somewhere on the island.”
The officer arrested Helbing and transported him to the HBPD for processing, where the victim of the golf cart theft positively identified the man as the suspect in her case.
“Once questioned again and advised of the security footage and other evidence, Helbing confessed to all crimes,” the HBPD report reads.
An officer also searched Helbing’s backpack and found a package containing buprenorphine, a controlled substance, and naloxone.
Helbing told police he is addicted to opioids and his girlfriend shares her medication to treat his withdrawal symptoms.
An officer turned over custody of Helbing to a Manatee County sheriff’s transport unit that drove Helbing to the Manatee County jail.
He was released April 12 on $14,000 bond.
If convicted, punishments for a second-degree felony charge include up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Punishments for a third-degree felony charge include up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, May 19, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.