DELTONA -- A Sanford SWAT officer's automatic rifle was stolen by a car burglar from his unmarked patrol car in front of his Deltona home, according to a published report by WFTV Orlando.
“It was one of eight vehicles broken into on the same block,” Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson told the TV station.
However, Davidson said investigators don't believe the thief or thieves "knew they were breaking into a law enforcement vehicle."
Investigators said they weren't sure if the car had been locked since there were no signs of forced entry.
The M-4 assault rigfle was assigned to nine-year veteran Officer John Foshee and apparently stolen on the final weekend of March.
WFTV pointed out a memo from Sanford police that noted "Officer Foshee might be the last person you'd expect to make such a serious mistake, because his personnel file includes nothing but high marks. In his latest evaluation, he was even commended for taking excellent care of his assigned equipment."