A 21-year-old North Miami-Dade man is behind bars after detectives say he broke into an unmarked City of Miami police vehicle, made off with two handguns and a stash of law enforcement equipment, then tried to cash in some of the loot at a local pawn shop. Stephon Lamart Perry now faces an armed burglary charge that carries the possibility of a life sentence, along with additional grand theft and burglary counts.
According to WSVN 7News, the burglary happened two weeks ago, when a thief broke into a white Ram 1500 assigned to a City of Miami police officer after finding the vehicle's passenger-side door left open. Investigators say the thief made off with the officer's personally owned Glock 48 handgun, a department-issued Glock 17, a black backpack, two FBI-issued T7 Shield external hard drives, a City of Miami police-issued external hard drive, and a 10-karat gold Cuban link bracelet valued at about $3,000.
A Pawn Shop Receipt Becomes the First Clue
Detectives say Perry pawned the stolen bracelet at Kings Cash Pawn that same day, the station's report notes. Investigators then searched the LeadsOnline database, the statewide registry Florida pawnbrokers are required to check under the state's Pawnbroking Act, according to Hussein & Webber, PL, and the transaction record helped steer detectives toward Perry.
Detectives also reviewed surveillance footage from several locations around the neighborhood, per the outlet's report. The footage showed a man walking alongside an electric bicycle while carrying a black backpack that would later match the one reported stolen from the officer's truck.
Foot Chase Leads to Guns Hidden Under an Oven
On Tuesday, detectives recognized Perry by his distinctive hairstyle and the same blue shorts seen in the surveillance video, the same report states. He had traveled to a residence in the 760 block of Northwest 70th Street, and when detectives tried to detain him outside the home, he allegedly ran on foot before officers took him into custody.
After obtaining a search warrant, detectives searched the residence and said they found two stolen firearms hidden inside a styrofoam food container beneath an oven. One was identified as the officer's personally owned Glock 48, taken during the vehicle burglary; the second, a Springfield Hellcat, had been reported stolen in an unrelated case, per the outlet's account. Detectives also processed the burglarized police vehicle for fingerprints and DNA as the investigation continued.
Armed Burglary Charge Carries a Possible Life Sentence
Under Florida Statute 810.02, taking a firearm found inside a vehicle during a burglary elevates the offense from a routine third-degree crime to armed burglary, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, according to The Law Offices of Eric M. Matheny, P.A. Perry appeared at his first court appearance on Wednesday, where a judge ordered him held without bond on the armed burglary charge pending a pretrial detention hearing, a standard step for defendants facing first-degree life felonies in Miami-Dade circuit court, per Miami-Dade County's pretrial screening process.
The judge set a combined $27,500 bond on Perry's remaining charges, which include grand theft of a firearm. Florida Statute 812.014 automatically classifies the theft of any firearm as grand theft, a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine regardless of the weapon's value, according to The Law Offices of Robert David Malove — a lower bar than the $750 threshold required to charge grand theft of most other property.
Vehicle Break-Ins Have Become the Nation's Top Source of Stolen Guns
The case fits a pattern researchers have flagged well beyond Miami-Dade. Firearms stolen from vehicles have become the leading source of stolen guns nationwide, with theft rates from cars tripling over the past decade and more than half of all reported stolen firearms in 2022 taken from motor vehicles, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. In Perry's case, a single unlocked door was reportedly enough to hand a thief access to two handguns at once.
Federal data compiled by the ATF and the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows more than 95% of stolen firearms in the U.S. originate from private citizens and their vehicles rather than gun stores, with more than 1 million firearms reported stolen from civilian owners between 2019 and 2023, per Ammo.com. That pipeline, researchers say, is what continues to funnel firearms like the ones taken from the officer's truck onto local streets.
Police Gear Has Repeatedly Turned Up in Local Burglaries
Thefts from official vehicles are not new to South Florida law enforcement. Internal bulletins from the City of Miami Police Department, reported by Miami New Times, described four department cruisers burglarized within a single three-week stretch back in 2019, with thieves making off with firearms, body armor, and badges.
Similar cases have surfaced recently in Miami-Dade. In April, Hoodline reported a South Miami Heights gear-theft arrest in which deputies caught a man with a stolen ICE sweater, a federal badge, and other law enforcement equipment. Miami-Dade County recorded 1,559 thefts from motor vehicles across its jurisdiction in the first four months of 2025, even as overall Part 1 property crime in the county dropped nearly 13% over that same stretch.
It remains unclear whether the officer's vehicle was left with the firearms secured in accordance with department policy. Protocols at other Miami-Dade agencies, including the North Miami Police Department, bar officers from leaving department-issued firearms unattended inside vehicles while off duty and require any lost or stolen weapon to be reported immediately to a shift commander.
