Hillsborough County deputies are asking Tampa-area residents to help track down 18-year-old Nicholas Collins Jr., who is wanted on a trio of firearm-related charges: grand theft of a firearm, armed burglary of a conveyance, and possession of a firearm by a felon based on a prior juvenile conviction. Detectives featured Collins in their regular “Warrant Wednesday” bulletin and say community tips could be key to finding him. Anyone who recognizes Collins or knows where he might be is urged to contact law enforcement.
According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Facebook post, investigators publicly named Collins and listed the three felony counts, adding the tag #teamHCSO and the reminder that anyone with information should call the sheriff’s non-emergency line at 813-247-8200.
What The Charges Mean
Under Florida law, burglary of a conveyance covers entering or remaining in a vehicle with the intent to commit a crime inside. If a weapon is present or used, that offense can be upgraded to armed burglary, which carries stiffer penalties than standard theft, per the Florida Senate. The “felon-in-possession” label reflects state rules that bar certain people with prior convictions, including some juvenile adjudications, from legally having a firearm.
Why Vehicle Break-Ins Matter
Investigators have repeatedly warned that guns stolen out of cars often end up driving street violence. The sheriff’s office reported roughly 290 firearms stolen from vehicles in 2020 and dozens more the following year, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office press release. That steady stream of stolen weapons is a big part of why detectives bear down on alleged vehicle burglaries tied to gun theft, and why residents are urged to secure their firearms and report suspicious activity quickly.
How To Report Tips
Detectives are asking anyone with information about Collins’s whereabouts to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 813-247-8200 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477. The department’s social media bulletin lists those same contact options, as shown in the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Facebook post.
HCSO's Warrant Wednesday Outreach
The sheriff’s office regularly uses its “Warrant Wednesday” spotlights on social platforms to drum up leads on people wanted on active warrants. Recent local coverage of that weekly push includes reporting such as a Warrant Wednesday dragnet zeroes in on Taylor Pearson feature, part of an ongoing effort to keep the public looped in on who deputies are seeking and why.
