{"id":382034,"date":"2026-08-26T23:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/382034\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T23:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:02:09","slug":"2-teens-accused-of-15-burglaries-and-gun-thefts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/382034\/","title":{"rendered":"2 teens accused of 15 burglaries and gun thefts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Two 19-year-olds from Port St. Lucie <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/news\/treasure-coast\/region-martin-county\/martin-county-sheriffs-office-detectives-arrest-2-in-string-of-burglaries-recover-stolen-guns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">were arrested <\/a>after investigators connected them to 15 burglaries and a string of gun thefts across Martin County.<\/p>\n<p>The Martin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office identified the suspects as Stephen Morris and Shaun Bilbrey. Investigators said the burglaries began on Aug. 1 in Hobe Sound, with the teens traveling by motorcycle and looking for unlocked vehicles across the county.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH BELOW: Teens arrested in Martin County burglary and gun theft spree<\/p>\n<p>Teens arrested in Martin County burglary and gun theft spree<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They were simply pulling on door handles and grabbing what was easy to get,&#8221; Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said.<\/p>\n<p>The thefts stretched from Hobe Sound, Palm City and Stuart, hitting a mix of gated and open communities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was a combination of gated communities and just communities that you could access by going down the road,&#8221; Budensiek said.<\/p>\n<p>At the Stuart Yacht and Country Club, investigators said the teens went over a wall and stole a golf cart from a resident&#8217;s garage. Surveillance video from the sheriff&#8217;s office shows one of the suspects going through a car at the club.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[They] used the golf cart to drive around the neighborhood and perpetrate their crimes,&#8221; Budensiek said.<\/p>\n<p>When investigators searched the suspects&#8217; homes, they found seven stolen guns \u2014 five tied to the 15 burglaries. The origin of the remaining two guns has not been determined.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We know they were stolen; we just don&#8217;t know where from,&#8221; Budensiek said.<\/p>\n<p>One gun was stolen from an unlocked car on Southeast Bahama Circle. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not happy about it,&#8221; neighbor Kevin Milliken said.<\/p>\n<p>Milliken, who has lived in the area for three years, said the arrest is changing his habits.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever taken the key out, but I might start now,&#8221; Milliken said.<\/p>\n<p>His neighbor Carrie Boutwell said she is also taking note.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I definitely will now,&#8221; Boutwell said when asked if she would be more mindful going forward.<\/p>\n<p>Both Morris and Bilbrey are in the Martin County Jail with no bond. Each faces 36 charges, including armed robbery, larceny, and traveling to commit burglary.<\/p>\n<p>This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Two 19-year-olds from Port St. Lucie were arrested after investigators connected them to 15&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[3321,265,1160,171,173,172,153283,153284],"class_list":["post-382034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-burglary","tag-crime","tag-martin-county","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-stuart-yacht-and-country-club","tag-teens-arrested"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}