Deltona Woman Who Sent 6-Year-Old To Steal Package Identified, Arrested

Date Added: January 17, 2018 4:28 pm

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

DELTONA WOMAN WHO SENT 6-YEAR-OLD TO STEAL PACKAGE IDENTIFIED, ARRESTED

The little boy caught on video taking a package off a front step in Deltona on Monday was only 6 years old.

The owner’s cameras were rolling as the kindergartner ran to the front door of the house on Tamerlane Street, picked up the package, ran back to a waiting car and climbed into the back seat.

But in this case, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office detectives were more interested in who wasn’t on camera:

The adult who drove him there.

And on Wednesday afternoon, the victim’s video, combined with good detective work and license plate reader technology, led to the arrest of 20-year-old Santana Lindsey (DOB 2/26/1997) of Deltona.

The quick arrest would not have happened without modern technology. After the victim contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Monday and provided his security video, Detective Miguel Roman got to work to identify the vehicle, a green Infiniti sedan.

Det. Roman searched the state’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database for tag numbers that matched the make, model and approximate year of the suspect vehicle. When he entered the resulting tag numbers into the VCSO’s license-plate reader (LPR) system, he found a match.

Then he tracked down the registered owner in Daytona Beach, and ultimately learned the owner had a connection to a house in Deltona: Santana Lindsey’s parents’ house. There, Det. Roman learned Lindsey uses a green Infiniti and routinely cares for a 6-year-old child.

Det. Roman spoke to Lindsey over the phone, got a confession and set up a meeting. She didn’t show, but detectives took her into custody at the house as she was getting into the Infiniti.

The stolen package was recovered and returned to its owner.

Lindsey is charged with principal to burglary, child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was being interviewed Wednesday afternoon before transport to the Volusia County Branch Jail on $5,500 bond.

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