Boca Raton burglary suspects tracked by drone, K-9 and helicopter

A burglary call in Oxford Circle turned into a fast-moving search built around scent work, overhead eyes and tight perimeter control, with Boca Raton police deploying K-9 officers, a drone team, a tactical team, road patrol and a Broward Sheriff’s Office helicopter after several males were reported breaking into an occupied dwelling.

Police said the suspects fled on foot when confronted, forcing officers to spread through the neighborhood and lock down escape routes. One suspect, 22-year-old Zymell Horace Buddy Cheatham, was arrested. A juvenile was later apprehended after officers observed a heat source near the east fence line, the kind of small clue that can matter when a search shifts from a quick response to a block-by-block sweep.

The response fit the way Boca Raton police says it is organized for burglary cases. The department’s Investigative Services Bureau handles burglary crimes and works closely with Palm Beach and Broward sheriff’s offices. Its K-9 Unit is made up of three canine teams, all male German Shepherds imported from Europe, trained through a 12- to 14-week Basic Canine School before being assigned to Road Patrol. In a search like this one, that structure matters: drones can spot movement from above, helicopters can widen the view, tactical teams can compress the perimeter and the dogs can work the ground where a suspect’s path is least obvious.

The May 13 search was not the first time Boca Raton has leaned on that combination. In a similar 2024 burglary case in the Colonnade area, a woman reported masked people in her fenced backyard, and three Broward County teens were later tracked with help from the police K-9 and Drone Units, along with a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. Those suspects were identified as Deandrea Ponce, Lamarion Simpson and Jamiel Willis.

Boca Raton police also maintains public news releases and alerts for residents, and this case showed why those systems exist: when a burglary turns into a foot chase, the search does not belong to one unit alone. It belongs to the dogs on the ground, the drone overhead and the helicopter circling until the perimeter finally closes.