DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Deputies in Daytona Beach are looking for a man from Broward who stole from a woman while she was attending a loved one’s funeral.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office dubbed 33-year-old Derrick Antoine Phillips from Pompano Beach their “S.C.U.M.B.A.G. of the week,” which they say stands for “Sorry Case of an Unconscionable, Malicious Bozo who Abused the Grieving.”
Phillips is accused of breaking into the woman’s car and stealing her belongings while she was at her uncle’s funeral last month, Fox 35 reports.
“First of all, to take something from somebody is horrible,” said the victim, who asked to remain anonymous. “Then you go where you know that people have already had a loss and you want to take other things from them?”
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said deputies connected Phillips to the crime through a fingerprint, and believe he was involved in another car burglary just minutes later.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement lists Phillips as a “career offender” with multiple aliases on their website.
“We believe he’s part of what’s called the ‘Felony Lane Crew.’ These are individuals who come up from south Florida, they traverse along the I-95 and I-4 corridor. They get off, they look for places to hit,” Chitwood said.
This is not the first time the sheriff’s office has called a criminal a “S.C.U.M.B.A.G.” Last time, they used the term to describe a burglary suspect, saying it was an acronym for “Suspected Criminal Unconcerned with Morals or Basic Acts of Goodness.”
Chitwood said that suspect was caught not long after their social media post. They’re hoping their unconventional method will pay off again this time.
“I just hope that he gets caught and at the end of the day, that’s really all that matters,” the victim told Fox 35.
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