Vernon Wilkins {BSO}
By Kevin Deutsch
A Margate woman awakened to find a gun-toting burglar standing in her living room, police said.
The woman was in her bedroom on Oct. 10 when she heard noises coming from the living room around 5:30 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit.
When the woman opened her bedroom door, she found Vernon Wilkins, 36, standing near the living room mirror, Margate Police said.
“What are you doing here!” the woman yelled, according to the affidavit.
Wilkins replied, “I’m fixing your mirror,” then walked over to the couch and lay down, police said.
The woman told Wilkins she was going to call the police before she and her husband exited their home, records show.
When police arrived, they found Wilkins lying on the couch with a 9-millimeter ammunition magazine in his right front pocket, the affidavit states.
Between the cushions of an adjacent couch, an officer found a black Glock X43 9-millimeter pistol Wilkins had stashed there, police said.
There was no forced entry to the home, police said. The victims told officers their rear door might have been left unlocked.
The couple said they had never seen Wilkins before.
He was charged with burglarizing a dwelling while armed, records show.
Wilkins was being held without bond Monday at Broward County’s Joseph V. Conte Facility.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
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