Coral Gables police arrest ‘apartment burglar’.

Coral Gables police arrested convicted felon Mark Lodigensky in connection with a number of apartment burglaries in the city.

Lodigensky, 59, faces a series of charges, including numerous counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling, trespass, third-degree grand theft and criminal mischief. He was arrested on June 5.

In May, the police department released images of a man caught on surveillance video at an apartment complex in Coral Gables as he peered through the front glass doors. Residents from several high-rise complexes had complained of thefts since the new year, including a break-in in February at a building on Madeira Avenue that led to the loss of $10,000 in jewelry, a Rolex watch and $1,500 in damages to an apartment’s front door.

Police arrested Lodigensky, who has a criminal record dating to the late 1970s, including a series of break-ins in Fort Lauderdale and Miami-Dade in 1986, after receiving a tip. An individual said he called Crimestoppers when he recognized the man from an image that ran with a Miami Herald story in May on the apartment break-ins.

“I don’t know the guy, per se, but I’m good with faces,” the caller said Tuesday, asking that his identity be withheld.

Lodigensky was last released from prison in December. He is being held at Metro West Detention Center. His bond totals $250,000 on the Gables charges but, in addition, there is a federal marshall’s hold on his release and more charges are expected, said Gables police spokesman Dean Wellinghoff.

“This was a good case, a good arrest,” Wellinghoff said Wednesday.

(source)