Deputies search for suspects who stole cars from Merritt Island car dealership

Workers fixed the gate after criminals stole three cars from a local dealership. After the break-in, the bent gate lay on the ground at Island Lincoln-Mercury, with car windows left smashed.

“One vehicle had been taken to run-through the gate, three other vehicles were actually stolen, and probably another six vandalized in some form,” said Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies believe the thieves jumped over the fence to get into the lot, then used a car already inside to smash through the gate. “The original car they took they used to break down the gate from the inside. That car became disabled, so they left it,” Goodyear said.

Deputies are reviewing surveillance footage and working with other agencies to track down whoever did this. They said this isn't the first time the dealership has been targeted. “There has been a break-in of this type. Approximately a year ago,” Goodyear said.

Deputies are on the hunt for the suspects. They're asking anyone with information about this incident to please call the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.