(WSVN) - A man is behind bars tonight after leading Coral Springs Police on a chase across the United States. As Kevin Ozebek tells us, he tried to run, but with police on his heels, there was “Nowhere to Hide.”
You can’t see his face in the surveillance video, but police know this man very well, especially since he led them on a chase from coast to coast.
Sgt. Ed DeRosa, Coral Springs Police: “I would describe him as a very calculating criminal, very determined in what he is going to do and how he’s going to do it.”
His name is Kelly Figaro, and police say he began his crime spree close to home in Coral Springs.
Bishop Windsor Ferguson, Kingdom of God Ministries: “My conversations with him were like, ‘What can I do to assist you?'”
Windsor Ferguson is the bishop at Kingdom of God Ministries. He says Figaro was homeless and slept behind the church.
Bishop Ferguson offered to help him, but says instead he chose to steal.
Police say security camera video shows Figaro gathering up computer equipment inside the church.
Bishop Windsor Ferguson: “When he notices he’s on camera, he reaches up, and he pulls that wire out of that camera, so literally destroys it.”
Bishop Ferguson actually watched the burglary as it unfolded on his phone.
Bishop Windsor Ferguson: “He takes the laptops, he takes the PC, the camera.”
Figaro was arrested, then released on bond. Police say it wasn’t long before he went back to stealing, this time slipping into Coral Springs homes while residents were asleep.
Detective Anthony Cassini, Coral Springs Police: “He was going in and just hitting the common areas like the kitchens and whatever he could find off the counters.”
Detectives say Figaro stole credit cards and checks.
Sgt. Ed DeRosa: “He would remove a singular check from each victim’s checkbook and then write them out to himself and make deposits at his local branch.”
When police turned up the heat, Figaro hit the road.
Sgt. Ed DeRosa: “It was determined through one of our victims that he had used her credit card in order to purchase Greyhound Bus Line tickets.”
He took off to California, then a few days later turned around and booked a bus to Atlanta. From there he headed north to Massachusetts, where he used to live.
Sgt. Ed DeRosa: “He was actually committing burglaries there. I was told that one victim actually came home and interrupted him while he was watching Netflix on their couch.”
With police on his heels, Figaro took off again, buying another bus ticket to California.
Detective Lauren Lopez, Coral Springs Police: “Almost nine years I’ve been here, I haven’t dealt with a case like this before.”
By this time, Coral Springs detectives were working with the U.S. Marshals Service, and they tracked his second move to California.
But before Figaro made it out west, marshals boarded his bus in Kansas City, Missouri and arrested him.
Detective Lauren Lopez: “Without teamwork, I mean, it would have been almost impossible to find this guy, especially for the fact that he was all over the country, so teamwork played a huge role in this case.”
From coast to coast and halfway back again, 6,500 miles later, police didn’t give up. Now Figaro is behind bars at the Broward County Jail. His running days are over.
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