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THEFT VICTIMS OFFER REWARD

A family is willing to pay $20,000 for a conviction and the return of their items.
 
Published Sept. 19, 2009|Updated Sept. 21, 2009

Someone stole more than $500,000 worth of their stuff. Now, a family is offering up to $20,000 for tips that lead to finding it and convicting the thieves.

Detectives have arrested one suspect, 21-year-old Joshua Preston White. His fingerprints were found on a Coke bottle in the Forest Hills Estates home after the July 26 break-in, according to an arrest report.

But White invoked his right to counsel and has not cooperated with the investigation, said J.D. Callaway, a spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. And investigators haven't made any other arrests or recovered any of the family's property.

The break-in happened when the homeowner was out of town, Callaway said.

Thieves took a 5-foot safe and its contents, two computers, a TV and other valuables, said Laura Dejourenett, a relative of the homeowner.

The family is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction, and $20,000 if some of the property can be recovered along with a conviction, Dejourenett said.

She said some of the more distinctive items that others may recognize include a limited edition Ferrari watch, a gold charm bracelet with seashell and other charms and a chrome revolver with a pearl handle.

The theft was remarkably tidy, Dejourenett said. "They took an entire safe, and were very neat about it," she said.

And the abandoned Coke bottle wasn't the only oddity about the crime, Dejourenett said.

"They also left a steak knife that they'd stolen from the kitchen on the windowsill," she said.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200.