Police arrest ‘bug man’ who disguised himself as pest control to burglarize Southside apartments

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday the arrest of a suspect nicknamed “Bug Man,” who disguised as a pest control company and burglarized multiple apartments in the Southside area in late March.

JSO reported that during the last week of March, Detective Wayne Speicher of the Burglary unit noticed a potential crime trend in the Southside area of Jacksonville after scanning multiple reports.

After scanning multiple reports, the Detective realized that several victims in the Southside apartment complexes had reported that an individual approached their door posing as a pest control employee and was there to spray their apartment.

The victims, who believed that the disguised suspect, also nicknamed “Bug Man” was a legitimate employee of a pest control company allowed him access to multiple residences. While inside the complex, the suspect was reported to have stolen various items.

Several factors of the reported crimes were found to be similar. For example, the methods by which the suspect used to gain entry and the victims he chose all resided in the local apartment homes.

After JSO reportedly conducted a background investigation, Officers were able to reach out to more than 100 apartment communities that are currently in the Sheriff’s Watch Apartments program, which was started several years back.

In less than 24 hours, a manager of one of the participating complexes called the police to report the suspect “Bug Man” was on their property. Although the suspect left the scene before the units arrived, management was able to capture photos of the person and his vehicle tag.

Crime Analyst George Oancea, after being given this material was not only able to identify the vehicle in question photographed by witnesses but also authenticate a location for the potential suspect’s vehicle.

As a result, officers immediately responded to a hotel in the 2300 block of Philips Highway where the suspect “Bug Man” was staying. After a short period of time, JSO reported that a person matching the suspect’s description was detained.

The suspect was identified as 42-year-old David Allen Johnson. Following an interview, Johnson was arrested for multiple counts of Burglary stemming from several reported incidents.

In just under a week of the crime being detected by JSO, the suspect was arrested and behind bars due to the quick action of the investigative team.

If you feel you have been a victim of this scheme, or you have pertinent information related to any of the known crimes, we would ask that you contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.