MARK I. JOHNSON

News-Journal Online

Staff writer 

January 13, 2011 12:05 AM  Southeast Volusia

Slagter

An Edgewater man admitted to burglarizing 11 homes after leaving behind a calling card that led officers to his front door, an Edgewater police captain said.

Behind that front door was $30,000 worth of stolen property, the captain added.

Officers took Kevin Jaycob Slagter, 32, of India Palm Drive into custody about 6 a.m. Wednesday after securing a search warrant and tracing a cellular phone found at a burglarized Woodland Drive residence to him, Capt. Dave Arcieri said Wednesday.

"When confronted at his residence and asked about the whereabouts of the phone, he said he could not find it," Arcieri said.

Investigators told Slagter they had the phone, at which time he confessed to breaking into that house and two others, the captain said. The other homes were on Woodland and Silver Palm drives. The three crimes occurred between Jan. 6 and Monday.

The phone was found while officers responded to the Silver Palm Drive break-in, which occurred on Jan. 6, a police report states. It was under an empty game system box.

The homeowners said the phone did not belong to anyone in the residence. In addition to the burglary, police said the burglar ransacked every room in the house.

Arcieri said that upon further questioning Slagter admitted to eight more burglaries in addition to the first three. However, the captain could not immediately provide details of those crimes.

Slagter told police "he has no job, a girlfriend and three children and is unable to provide for his family," the arrest report states.

Over the past several months, more than 30 Edgewater residences have been burglarized. While police say they can tie Slagter to some of those crimes, investigators do not believe all can be attributed to one person.

Still, Arcieri said: "I am pretty confident he will be linked to other burglaries."

The captain said Slagter is the fourth person arrested in connection with the recent string of burglaries. However, officers have not been able to associate Slagter with the others.

Owners of the stolen property -- including electronics, jewelry, computers, coins and other items -- found in the Slagter home will be contacted once police have completed a full inventory of the items, Arcieri said.

Slagter faces multiple counts of burglary, possession of burglary tools, cutting telephone lines to aid in a burglary and grand theft. He was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail and held on $15,000 bail.