Orange County police probe overnight burglaries in Warwick, Florida, Goshen

The overnight crime wave started at 4:11 a.m. at Wine Time Liquor Store on Route 94 North in Warwick, where suspects smashed the front glass door, slipped inside briefly, stole money from the register and fled with merchandise. Warwick Police Chief John Rader said the break-in was part of a string of three incidents tied to the same investigation.

That tight sequence is what has merchants across Orange County watching the case closely. News 12 reported the burglaries and attempted break-ins unfolded within about an hour and just miles from one another early Tuesday morning, hitting businesses in Warwick, the Village of Florida and Goshen. Goshen Town Police Chief James Post said multiple businesses were hit and a vehicle was also stolen during the spree, deepening concern that the burglaries were coordinated rather than random.

At Wine Time, representative Mark Chisholm said surveillance video appeared to show suspects smashing the front door, reaching inside to unlock it and trying to pull out the cash register before taking off. “We’ve never once had to look at the camera for any reason,” Chisholm said. For small retailers, that kind of overnight intrusion means more than a broken pane of glass. It can mean lost cash, damaged inventory, repair bills, higher insurance claims and another round of security upgrades that many owners did not plan for.

About a half-hour later, the Kwik Mart on Farries Avenue in the Village of Florida was hit. The owner said four masked suspects smashed through the front door, tore through the store, stole merchandise and tried to take the cash register before employees arrived. Surveillance video showed suspects grabbing tobacco products, ripping items from shelves and one suspect jumping over the counter, according to the report.

The geography of the spree matters as much as the damage. Orange County spans 839 square miles, includes three cities, 20 towns and 19 villages, and is home to more than 379,000 residents, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. In places like Warwick and Goshen, where commercial strips and village centers depend on a handful of local businesses, a cluster of burglaries can quickly change how owners staff late hours, secure entrances and decide whether to invest in reinforced doors, cameras and alarm systems.

The Town of Goshen Police Department says it maintains primary patrol and investigative responsibility in the town and has a 24/7/365 presence within its service area. Investigators are still searching for suspects as police work to determine whether the break-ins, the attempted thefts and the stolen vehicle were all part of the same crew moving through the county before dawn.