Sedona and Cottonwood Burglary Suspect Lorie Frontuto Charged
Sedona AZ (July 24, 2012) – In March of this year, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies investigated a residential burglary on Yucca Drive, off Arizona State Highway 89a, in Sedona.
It appeared unknown suspect(s) had forced open a rear sliding door to enter the victim’s home. Suspect(s) stole vintage jewelry pieces from the victim’s bedroom while she was away for only two hours. Deputies and detectives canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses and examined the scene for evidence. No immediate suspect information was obtained at the time.
In May of 2012, 51-year-old Lorie Frontuto was arrested for burglarizing a home in Cottonwood, Arizona. A media release documenting the incident, including a booking photo, was issued and published in area newspapers. One of the victim’s alert neighbors recognized the photo of Frontuto and thought it was likely the same person he saw in the victim’s driveway the day of the burglary.
YCSO detectives contacted the witness and confirmed by way of a photo line-up interview that Frontuto was in fact the suspect he saw. Detectives also obtained a vehicle description from the witness which matched a vehicle owned by Frontuto.
During follow-up on Frontuto’s prior case, detectives had already recovered apparent stolen property from her residence. Many of the items, including jewelry, had not been identified. The victim was given an opportunity to review photos of the evidence and immediately identified several pieces which belonged to her.
On June 20, 2012, Frontuto, still in-custody, was charged with Burglary, Theft, and Criminal Trespass for this case. She remains in-custody with a total combined bond of $60,000.
Detectives have spent additional weeks in follow-up and continue to review evidence and leads which could link Frontuto to additional burglaries.
If you have further information regarding Frontuto, contact Detective Todd Swaim at 928-567-7710.
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To all neighborhood watch members —
Please review the above media release – This contains a classic example of how a single alert neighbor solved a burglary – This arrest could lead to other crimes being solved.
Some information not in the release – The suspect was confronted by a neighbor before the burglary when she appeared out of place and lost – The suspect claimed she was checking out homes for sale –
The victim’s home at been listed on Craigslist… We are not sure if the suspect found the home through Craigslist or was just casing the neighborhood at random.
The witness initially thought the suspect had some connection to the victim based on her “familiar to neighborhood” behavior. This suspect was very good using “stories” in her other cases to try and explain why she was not committing a crime.
Remember, suspects like these can lie through their teeth and ‘seem’ believable. This suspect was rather bold in that even after a neighbor had contact with her, she remained in the neighborhood to commit a burglary.
She also has committed ID theft in the past.
Although we would have preferred the witness call right away, the fact that he recalled enough detail to later identify the suspect from a news photo is exemplary. The witness also recalled the suspect’s vehicle information —
As we have discussed before – consider removing valuable items to a less obvious place in your home. ALSO CONSIDER PHOTOGRAPHING/INVENTORYING YOUR VALUABLES – IF ITEMS ARE STOLEN, THEY WILL BE MUCH EASIER TO IDENTIFY LATER BY WAY OF PHOTO IF FOUND DURING TRAFFI C STOPS, SEARCH WARRANTS, PAWN SHOP INSPECTIONS, ETC ….
Thanks –
Dwight D’Evelyn
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office
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