A 35-year-old man, Jose Ortiz, was arrested in connection with a series of break-ins at eight churches in Northwest Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) confirmed Ortiz was apprehended and charged with multiple counts of burglary and violation of probation.
Ortiz, referred to as a “serial church burglar” by authorities, was stopped and arrested by patrol officers on unrelated charges, leading to the discovery that he was the primary suspect in the recent church burglaries.
Although JSO has not provided specific details on the timing of the break-ins or the stolen items, detectives are working diligently to recover the stolen property and return it to the affected churches.
Ortiz now faces charges of burglary, with further investigations ongoing.
