While trying to crack down on a string of burglaries in The Loop shopping center, Kissimmee detectives arrested two men who they believe are linked to about 75 car burglaries in Central Florida.

Under questioning March 4, Elson Antonio Velazquez Rivera, 37, of Orlando and Jonathan Torres Wever, 27, also of Orlando, told investigators that they were targeting restaurants and vehicles where electronics, shopping bags and high-priced items were left in plain sight.

Detectives said they were caught in the act while Kissimmee Police Department's focus deployment unit conducted an operation at The Loop with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. Over the past few weeks, the Kissimmee unit had noticed a spike in smash-and-grab burglaries in the shopping plaza, where vehicle windows had been broken out.

After pinpointing a specific vehicle involved in the burglaries, investigators conducted surveillance in The Loop and witnessed a burglary in process. Detectives within the operation and also from Orange County interviewed Torres Wever and Velazquez Rivera and found links to burglaries in all their respective jurisdictions.

Both men were transported to the Osceola County Jail.