Two teenage boys were arrested early Monday morning and charged with entering autos, according to a social media post by the Gainesville Police Department.
Gainesville officers responded to the area of Ridgewood Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. for an entering auto report that had happened within the last couple of hours.
One officer, Haley Monroe, decided to take a more stealthy approach in the investigation. She turned off her car's lights and began searching the area. While she was in the area of Northside drive, she saw the two boys and made contact with them. After preliminary investigations, they were taken into custody and taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center.
They had stolen possessions with them, like credit cards and money, which were then returned to their rightful owners.
Chief Jay Parrish praised her for the way she handled the search.
"This is a prime example of what our officers do daily, but seldom get recognition for it because it’s part of their jobs," Parrish said. "Officer Monroe displayed excellent police work and I applaud her and her shift for being vigilant during these times."
Lt. Kevin Holbrook said the suspects are 15 and 16. The investigation continues to determine if the teens might be responsible for similar crimes that have been reported in the city in recent weeks.
