EAST OF PUNTA GORDA — Authorities arrested a teen Friday in connection with two recent burglaries at homes in the Washington Loop Road area, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff’s report.

George Brice Stuck, 16, of the 4000 block of Michigan Drive, Punta Gorda, was charged with two counts each of armed burglary and grand theft.

According to the report, the CCSO received a call Aug. 26 from a homeowner on the 35800 block of Hilnick Drive, Punta Gorda, who had been gone since late April. The homeowner reported a multitude of missing items, including coins, rings, electronic equipment, a pressure washer, a Maytag washing machine, several motors, pocketknives, a riding mower and various tools. The stolen items were valued at $3,800, according to the report.

On Aug. 30, the CCSO received another call on Hilnick Drive, in which the homeowner reported fishing equipment, a guitar and six harmonicas were stolen from the home. The items were valued at $380, the report states. The burglar also allegedly helped himself to an Eggo waffle and syrup, leaving his dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.

Authorities responded to yet another home on Hilnick Drive on Aug. 31, after receiving a call about an open door. Deputies learned from another juvenile that he knew where some of the stolen items from the previous burglaries were located, after Stuck reportedly showed off some of the things he allegedly stole to the juvenile. Many of the items were found in the woods behind a home on the 35700 block of Washington Loop Road, the report states.

Stuck was arrested at his nearby home on Washington Loop Road and transported to a Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Fort Myers, where he will remain for 21 days. Stuck could be charged with additional burglaries, the report states.

Sheriff’s chopper locates missing boaters

CHARLOTTE HARBOR — The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the rescue of two boaters who had been missing since Sunday night.

According to a CCSO report, four women and two men were on a 23-foot boat Sunday evening when the two men jumped into the water. The remaining passengers, as a joke, pretended to leave the men but then could not find them when they returned, the report states.

The CCSO aviation unit that responded used heat-seeking equipment to locate the men, who were found about 12:30 a.m. Monday. The men were found about 1.5 miles north of Cape Haze Point, about a quarter-mile offshore, the report states. Both men were in good health.

None of the individuals on the boat was named in the report, but Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials now are investigating the incident, as it occurred in its jurisdiction.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

• Gayle Edna Tessmer, 54, 2900 block of Datura Road, Venice. Charge: DUI with property damage. Bond: $1,000.

• Jason Ray Bennett, 25, 26400 block of Custer Road, Punta Gorda. Charge: out-of-county warrant. Bond: none.

• Robert Kenneth Paquin Jr., 20300 block of Midway Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of an injunction. Bond: none.

• Christopher Dale Monroe, 33, 21300 block of Coulton Ave., Port Charlotte. Charges: disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and smuggling contraband into a prison. Bond: $4,500.

• Jorge Arreola, 25, 2500 block of Elkcam Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charges: possession of cocaine and possession of narcotic equipment. Bond: $3,500.

• Matthew Timo Jones, 28, 2300 block of Conway Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

• Bryan Gene Bennett, 28, 2700 block of Colonade Lane, North Port. Charge: fraud. Bond: none.

• Paul Stephen Elligson Jr., 47, 2000 block of Willow Ave., Englewood. Charge: battery — second offense. Bond: none.

• Madelaine Faye Nelson, 21, Old Trail Road, Englewood. Charge: DUI. Bond: $750.

• Samantha Bonnie Lopez, 23, of Clearwater, Fla. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

• Jason Shawn Secker, 26, 25500 block of Palisade Road, Punta Gorda. Charge: battery. Bond: $2,500.

The Punta Gorda Police Department reported the following arrest:

• Sheldon Bernard Flemming, 33, Booker T. Washington Road, Arcadia. Charges: possession of marijuana and possession of narcotic equipment. Bond: $2,000.

— Compiled by Drew Winchester