TALLAHASSEE — Three men face racketeering and dozens of burglary charges for orchestrating a smash-and-grab theft ring that struck hardware stores across 13 Florida counties, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced.
Johnny Batista, 19, Roberto Hernandez-Castro, 39, and Roberto Aldana Ferrera, 31, are each charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, five counts of burglary of a structure causing over $1,000 in damage, two counts of attempted burglary, three counts of grand theft causing damage over $1,000, 15 counts of possessing burglary tools, and multiple additional burglary and grand theft charges. If convicted as currently charged, all three face a maximum of life in the Florida Department of Corrections.
“This group of criminals carefully orchestrated thefts across at least thirteen counties to turn over illicit proceeds as quickly as possible,” said Attorney General Uthmeier. “In Florida, our Organized Retail Theft Task Force will dismantle theft rings, keep retail costs low for consumers, and protect hard-working Floridians.”
The crew targeted hardware stores including Ferguson Waterworks, Grainger, Electric City, Sewell’s Hardware and other small businesses across Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Orange, Polk, Brevard, Seminole, St. Lucie, Indian River, Duval, Sarasota and Pinellas counties. During each theft, the defendants would select as many high-end tools as possible, throw them in a large bin and exit the store without paying. The stolen goods were then transported to Miami-Dade County, where they were sold. The operation was linked to more than 30 cases statewide, resulting in thousands of dollars in damages and hundreds of thousands in losses to the affected companies.
“Thanks to the relentless work of our detectives, what began as a local hardware store burglary investigation quickly uncovered a much larger criminal operation tied to more than 30 cases across the State of Florida,” said Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek. “I could not be more proud of the professionalism and determination displayed by our team throughout this investigation.”
Batista is currently held in the Palm Beach County Jail. Aldana Ferrera is facing local charges in Georgia and will be extradited to Florida after those are resolved. Hernandez-Castro is currently at large with an active arrest warrant.
The investigation was led by the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Chris Olowin will prosecute the case in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.