Cudjoe teen charged with car burglaries

Big Pine Key – Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a Big Pine Key neighborhood early today to reports of a young man knocking on doors, talking and not making any sense.

Deputy John Gabay first went to a home on Avenue G at 1:30 a.m. The homeowner told him a young male in a white tank top and shorts knocked on his door. He said the young man was speaking but not making sense, so he called the Sheriff’s Office for assistance. As Deputy Gabay was at that location, a second call came in from Avenue D. A woman reported a man on her front porch wearing a white tank top and shorts was banging furniture around saying he was going to kill everybody.

Deputy Gabay responded to that location. He found the male, identified as 17 year old Nicholas Burttram, laying in the woods near the house. A vehicle parked at the home on Avenue D, had been burglarized. The glove compartment had been ransacked. A watch and a pack of cigarettes from the car were found in Burttram’s pocket. Also in his pocket was a GPS, and an Ipod.

Sgt. Mark Maison arrived as backup. He turned the GPS on and pushed the “home” button. The GPS gave an Avenue E address. The officers responded to the address and found a car which appeared to have been burglarized. The homeowner confirmed a GPS and an Ipod had been taken from his car.

All the property was returned to the owners. Burttram was still saying things that didn’t make sense and appeared to be under the influence of some type of controlled substance so an ambulance was called to the scene to make sure he was all right.

After he was checked out by paramedics, he was placed under arrest for two counts of vehicle burglary and two counts of theft.