Two burglary ring suspects arrested

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Two suspects in a massive burglary ring that stretched between Gulf Breeze and Perdido Key have been arrested.

Warrants were served Friday, January 18 on John Flynn, 19, and Jo’Kavious Wilson, 18.

Pensacola police said Flynn is the group's leader orchestrating a group of thugs who have been stealing since last August.

"There's an excess of 50 cases that we believe these gentlemen have been involved in," said police captain David Alexander.  "It doesn't mean that we can just totally relax, but it does mean we are getting folks who are responsible for committing these crimes off the street and we're definitely looking forward to some additional arrests being made."

On December 6, Wilson and another man were in the 600 block of Whitney Drive.  Officers said they saw the two men approaching the front door of a home, but they would not comply with Pensacola police.

The scene is still fresh on the minds of residents like Robert Caldwell, who had a bullet hole in his window.

Police said Wilson and Desmond Phillip, 20, attempted to run over the officers with a stolen vehicle.  The officers fired shots at the suspects and wounded them, before both men were brought into custody.

Nearly a month and a half later, to Caldwell, the crime is still as senseless as before.

"I hate to see people getting themselves into all this trouble, especially when they're so young and think an easy way to make money is to steal from somebody else," Caldwell said.  "There are jobs out there if you get out there and look.  They might not be the jobs you want, but there are jobs out there."

Captain Alexander believes we'll see a noticeable decline in burglary numbers as police continue to disable this ring.

"I think it'll get a message out that we're on the trails of those who are committing these crimes, and we're going to work relentlessly until we get them in custody," Alexander said.

PPD expects to arrest at least two more people in connection with the burglary ring, including 21-year-old Decker Brooks.