Crutch Leads to Arrest for String of Burglaries in Southeast Seminole Heights

UPDATE: The first suspect's brother, Kenneth Feggins, 29, also has been arrested and charged in connection with the burglaries. He was booked into Orient Road Jail early Thursday under an alternate spelling of his last name (Figgins) and will remain in custody in lieu of bond.

Several homes in the Southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood have been burglarized in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Tampa Police arrested a suspect and recovered about 200 items believed stolen, some of which had been pawned, according to an incident report.

Detectives have been looking for a man with a crutch who had been seen fleeing a burglary on North 10th Street. On Wednesday, detectives spotted Jamiel Feggins, 26, using a single crutch while standing behind 1228 E. Osborne Ave.

Feggins lives at the home and is on probation for felony battery, police said. He gave detectives permission to search his home, where they spotted property from several recent burglaries.

Feggins told police there were two shotguns under the kitchen sink, according to the incident report. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.

Detectives then obtained a search warrant and placed Feggins into custody before searching the home. Inside, crime scene technicians spent more than six hours processing the scene, where officers seized more than 200 potentially stolen electronics, two shotguns and numerous rounds of ammunition, police said. Investigators also found marijuana and cocaine.

Police said Feggins and his brother have been pawning the stolen property at Value Pawn, 1502 E. Hillsborough Ave. A detective has recovered the items from the pawn shop.

Feggins agreed to speak to police about the burglaries, and he has been charged with armed burglary, grand theft, dealing in stolen property and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition. He remains in custody in lieu of bond.

Police attempted to talk to the suspect’s brother, but he declined to be interviewed and has not been arrested in connection with the burglaries.