3 face charges after breaking into Longwood auto auction, stealing cars, police say

Daniel Howard, Vorne Matthew and Alondra Nicole Rosado face charges of burglary and grand theft auto

Alondra Rosado, Daniel Howard and Vorne Matthew (left to right) face charges of burglary and grand theft auto (Longwood Police Department)

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Two men and a woman face a number of charges after multiple vehicles were stolen from an auto auction business in Longwood, police said.

Daniel Howard, Vorne Matthew and Alondra Nicole Rosado were arrested Saturday.

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According to investigators, two cars — a Chevrolet Corvette and a Kia Optima — were reported stolen from the AutoNation Auto Auction on Jan. 25 around 1:30 a.m.

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On Saturday, Longwood police said they were dispatched to the same business around 10:13 p.m., located at 650 North State Road 600, in reference to a vehicle theft in progress. Police were advised that a Mercedes CLS 550 was “just stolen” and people were inside the fenced compound.

Security members from AutoNation told police the stolen Mercedes traveled southbound on U.S. Highway 17-92 and that the three people jumped a wall in the back of the business towards Highland Street.

Police said they spotted two of them running westbound on Longdale Avenue and were able to detain them, but a third person was seen running southbound on Highland Street.

The third person was located lying in bushes behind the business, according to the arrest report.

After reviewing security footage, police said Howard, Matthew and Rosado made entry into the fenced compound and entered into several vehicles. Rosado was wearing a ski mask on the security footage, police said, and the mask was located near her when she was detained.

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Longwood police said that a white Kia Optima was parked on Highland Street near where the three suspects were seen jumping a fence to enter and exit the compound. The same Optima that was stolen on Jan. 25, according to the report.

Police said when Rosado was searched, she had a key fob belonging to the stolen Optima.

The license plate on the Optima came back to an Infiniti sedan that was also stolen from the business on Jan. 25, police said.

The trio faces multiple charges of burglary of an occupied structure and grand theft auto.

Police said they have not yet identified the thief who drove away in the Mercedes.


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About the Author

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.

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