Lee, Collier detectives investigate string of break-ins at video production companies

After camera equipment worth thousands of dollars went missing following a recent string of burglaries at local video production companies in Collier and Lee counties, investigators are looking at whether the crimes could be connected. 

Three agencies are investigating four break-ins at companies in Fort Myers, Naples and East Naples in the span of fewer than three weeks.

The first of the four burglaries happened Sept. 19 when police responded to a reported break-in at The Naples Studio, a video production company in the 500 block of Goodlette-Frank Road North. 

When officers arrived at 6:50 a.m., they discovered the glass on the front door of the studio was broken, according to a Naples police report.

Drew Townsend, president of The Naples Studio, said the burglars stole more than $22,000 worth of equipment, including a camera and lenses.

Townsend, who was able to capture a masked person on his surveillance system, said the burglar did not waste any time and was in and out in three minutes. 

"He was very efficient," he said. "He knew what he was going after."

The intruder focused on more expensive equipment and disregarded less pricey pieces, Townsend said, adding that only someone familiar with the industry would be able to do that.

"He almost methodically went through," he said.

After talking to local colleagues in the industry who also fell victim to the break-ins, Townsend said he thinks the crimes are linked.

"What has been delivered to me, there's no question it's the same guy," he said.

Lt. Seth Finman, a spokesman for Naples police, said in an email that "it is possible" the four crimes are connected and added that detectives from local agencies "have been collaborating and sharing information."

A week after the break-in at The Naples Studio, Fort Myers police responded to a report of an overnight burglary at Dreamtime Entertainment, a video production company in the 2100 block of West First Street.

Officers there reviewed surveillance footage but could not find "the exact point of entry" into the building, according to a Fort Myers police report. 

A maintenance manager told officers that a maintenance worker "may have accidentally forgot to lock all primary entrances and exits leading into the first floor of the building," the report states.

The equipment stolen from the Dreamtime Entertainment office was worth close to $4,000, according to the report.

Fort Myers detectives have been in touch with their Naples colleagues because of the similarities between the two cases, said Mitch Haley, a spokesman for the FMPD. 

"The one case here is still under investigation," Haley said.

Three days after the Fort Myers break-in, burglars hit an East Naples video production company Sept. 29.

Deputies responded to ITZ Studios in the 1700 block of Commercial Drive around 10:45 a.m. that day and met with the owner, who told them somebody had broken in overnight and stolen three video cameras valued at $12,000, according to a Collier County Sheriff's Office report.

Investigators noted that there was "no sign of forced entry." 

A week later Collier deputies responded to the fourth break-in, this one at a video production company in the 3600 block of Enterprise Avenue called Guerilla Media. 

There was close to $50,000 worth of video equipment missing, including cameras, audio gear and lenses, said Hope Daley, who co-owns the company with her husband.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the break-ins at Guerilla Media and ITZ Studios and "looking into the possibility" that the two burglaries "could be related" to the one at The Naples Studio, Kristine Gill, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, said in an email.

Like Townsend, Daley, the Guerilla Media co-owner, said the burglars knew what they were doing.

She said they seemed to be familiar with the layout of the office, for instance, knowing immediately where to find the light switches. The building her office is in always seemed safe, automatically locking at 6 p.m. and unlocking at 9 a.m., Daley said.

"We thought we were very secure," she said.

For the time being, Daley and her husband have been able to borrow equipment from colleagues. But unlike Townsend, who was able to replace the stolen goods through his insurance, Daley said she was not able to get her equipment insured. 

"We're going to have to buy or lease" new gear, she said.

To make matters worse, Daley and her husband had their Golden Gate home devastated by Hurricane Irma less than a month before the break-in, after forceful winds, perhaps even tornado-strength gusts, lifted the roof. 

"My house was destroyed," she said.

The couple plan to rebuild their home and are optimistic about the future of their business, Daley said.

Still, she said, the back-to-back blows were tough to bear.

"We were already really down because of the house," she said. "This is our livelihood."