Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of the 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1 on New Year's Day or shortly thereafter. Then Headline Surfer will post a Top 10 forecast story of the good, the bad & the ugly on the horizon in "2022: The Year That Lies Ahead."
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DELTONA, Fla. -- A pizza-eating suspect responsible for a pair of car break-ins in Deltona was arrested in late October after deputies followed a trail of evidence including red sauce on the door handle of one vehicle, and a pizza box and plates left behind near another.
When deputies found Dewey J. Smith, 38, walking down the street in another neighborhood, he was still carrying the victims’ credit cards and IDs.
The victims reported the car breaks around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, on Jefferson Avenue. Responding to the first call, deputies found the car’s center console open glove box rummaged through, and the victim’s wallet missing. There was also what appeared to be marinara sauce on the inside handle of the driver’s side door.
Yes, marinara sauce.
A few doors down the street, deputies noticed an empty pizza box where another car break occurred. Missing from that vehicle were a 9mm handgun and an old concealed weapons permit.
As deputies conducted a neighborhood canvass, they spoke to a neighbor who reported an acquaintance, Dewey Smith, had stopped by a couple of times overnight, including one time asking if she knew anyone looking to purchase a firearm. He was also carrying a white grocery bag containing credit cards and gift cards and wanted her to call a phone number to check the balance on a gift card.
She refused, but she said earlier in the night, Smith did take some of the Little Caesar’s pizza she’d ordered. She said she’d thrown away the pizza and the box, and Smith took it out of the garbage.
She refused, but she said earlier in the night, Smith did take some of the Little Caesar’s pizza she’d ordered. She said she’d thrown away the pizza and the box, and Smith took it out of the garbage.
Meanwhile, it was discovered the stolen credit cards were used in the overnight and early morning hours at three Deltona gas stations.
Later, when deputies found Smith walking on Twin Oaks Street with the victims’ cards still in his possession, he told deputies, “You got me red-handed."
He wasn't referring to pizza sauce.
The handcuffs were slapped on Smith and he was hauled off to jail on a battery of larceny and theft charges.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.