DESOTO, Mo. (KMOV.com) – The owner of Chico’s Produce in De Soto, Frank Orlando, has been the target of a string of criminals recently.
According to his older sister, Angie Figge, Orlando and his sons went into hiding to protect them.
“We were all, like, completely scared and no one knew what we should do or where,” she said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary at Orlando’s home south of De Soto on Big River Heights, reported January 13. According to Figge, the burglary occurred while her brother was in the house. go on vacation. She said the thieves took guns, jewelry and gold coins. According to an Orlando Facebook post, thieves also stole tools and $9,000 that belonged to his two sons, 10 and 12 years old.
“They got their birthday money and they’ve been saving it for years, and it was in a safe. And they stole the whole safe,” Figge said.
Figge said family members heard through the vineyard that someone trying to sell some stolen guns threatened to come back and kill Orlando. Two days after the burglary, three shots were fired through the house’s window. Figge said her brother was shot in the arm, but none of his children were injured.
“The bullets came out a few inches from his head. I mean, they hit his arm,” she said.
Then, at 6:10 a.m. Monday, a neighbor reported that Orlando’s house was on fire. Figge said he and his sons had moved out and no one was home at the time the house caught fire. De Soto Rural Fire County officials said the home had been on fire for some time before it was reported and that the house was completely lost. The Missouri Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire.
According to spokesman Grant Bissell, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has multiple officers investigating crimes against Orlando.
“There’s been a lot of traffic at this address over the last few days here, investigating many crimes with a lot of different employees involved,” he said.
Figge said the family is now concerned that criminals will target Orlando’s business. She says she doesn’t know who or why someone would want to be her brother’s victim. She said the family wants answers and doesn’t believe the sheriff’s office has done enough.
“Unfortunately, people tend to believe that you know, crimes, big or small, should be ended with the arrest of crimes committed, you know, within hours or maybe days after the crime happened. That’s not the case. That’s not the reality,” Bissell said.
Bissell says there’s a lot going on behind the scenes with the investigation that he can’t talk about.
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