April 26, 2016
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) participated in a
joint investigation with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), the Citrus
County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), the
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) and the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. Months of
intense cooperative investigation and hundreds of pieces of evidence have been
collected.
Arrested were Darren Decker (41) and Jessica Baker (44) of
Ocala. They have been linked to ten burglaries in Levy County and the LCSO
investigators expect this number to climb. This husband and wife team is
suspected of committing over 60 residential burglaries in the North Central
Florida area. They targeted homes in rural areas of the above mentioned
counties and stole guns, jewelry, electronics and prescription medication.
LCSO investigators and Crime Scene deputies worked long
hours gathering forensic evidence and following leads. Some of the evidence
collected from the crime scenes in Levy County was used to link this pair to
other crimes from other counties. Sheriff McCallum praised the cooperation of
all agencies involved in this investigation.
Decker and Baker are being held in the Sumter County
Detention Facility on a No Bond status. They also have been linked to a recent
murder investigation in Citrus County and charges are expected to be filed
later.
Sheriff McCallum said, “We will do whatever it takes to
ensure the job gets done and our citizens are safe in their homes. It is a great relief knowing these two are in
custody and the fear our community was feeling is now over.”
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Lt. Scott Tummond
Public Information
Levy County Sheriff's Office
(352) 486-5111
Public Information
Levy County Sheriff's Office
(352) 486-5111
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