DESOTO, Mo. (KMOV.com) – The owner of Chico’s Produce in De Soto, Frank Orlando, has been the target of a string of crimes recently.
According to his sister, Angie Figge, Orlando and his sons have gone into hiding for their protection.
“We’re all, like, totally afraid and nobody knows where or what we should do,” she said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office is investigating a burglary at Orlando’s home south of De Soto on Big River Heights Road that was reported on January 13. According to Figge, the burglary happened sometime while her brother was on vacation. She said the thieves took guns, jewelry and gold coins. According to a Facebook post by Orlando, the thieves also stole tools and $9,000 that belonged to his 10-year-old and 12-year-old sons.
“They’d gotten birthday money and they’d saved it for years, and it’s been in a safe. And they stole the whole safe,” said Figge.
Figge said that family members heard through the grapevine that someone who was trying to sell some of the stolen guns threatened to go back and kill Orlando. Two days after the burglary, three shots were fired through a window of the home. Figge said her brother was hit in the arm by a bullet, but none of his children were hurt.
“Bullets came inches from his head. I mean, they shot him in the arm,” she said.
Then Monday morning at 6:10 a.m. ,a neighbor reported that Orlando’s house was on fire. Figge said he and his sons had moved out and gone into hiding, so no one was home at the time the house went up in flames. Officials with the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District said the house had been burning for some time before it was reported and that the house was a complete loss. The Missouri Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has multiple personnel investigating the crimes against Orlando, according to spokesman Grant Bissell.
“There’s been a lot of back and forth at this address in the last couple of days here, investigating multiple crimes with a lot of different personnel involved,” he said.
Figge said the family is now concerned that the criminals will target Orlando’s business. She said she doesn’t know who or why someone would want to victimize her brother. She said the family wants answers and doesn’t believe the sheriff’s office has done enough.
“Unfortunately, people tend to have a belief that you know, crimes, big or small, should be wrapped up with an arrest in charges made, you know, within hours or maybe days of the crime taking place. That’s just not the case. That’s not reality,” said Bissell.
Bissell said there’s much work going on behind the scenes with the investigation that he’s not able to talk about.
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