Business Owner Charged with Burglarizing Customer’s Cars

Okalossa County S. O.

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Posted by: JSKeppy
Date: Jul 23 2010 10:56 AM

 The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit has arrested a Fort Walton Beach area business owner after catching him on surveillance video stealing from customers’ cars.

At this time, 42-year old Danny Noel Riggs, owner of Tip Toe Tanning at 903 C Beal Parkway, faces five counts of burglary. The Sheriff’s Office had received complaints that Riggs was suspected of stealing money and other items from cars parked at his business. On Thursday, July 22nd, the Street Crimes Unit conducted an undercover operation including video surveillance in which Riggs was observed burglarizing two vehicles, one of them being a Sheriff’s Office bait car. An undercover officer had entered Tip Toe Tanning and paid to use a stand-up tanning booth. The undercover officer then placed her bag and money in the bait car. The undercover officer entered the booth and Riggs took the officer’s keys from the business and unlocked the bait car. Riggs then stole $60.00 worth of prerecorded police bait money and $10.00 change from a bag inside the vehicle. After burglarizing the bait car, Riggs re-entered his business. Deputy Michael Rader followed Riggs inside and placed him under arrest. Riggs had the keys to the bait car and $70.00 from the vehicle in his hands at the time.

Prior to Riggs breaking into the bait car, during the time the Street Crimes Unit was staging in the parking lot, deputies also videotaped Riggs entering a customers’ van while she tanned inside the business. Deputies say Riggs admitted after his arrest that he would enter locked rooms while customers were in tanning beds, take their keys, go out to their cars and steal, then return the keys to the rooms before the customers were done tanning.

Click Here to view edited versions of the surveillance video.

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