Home Depots around region among those targeted by migrant the ring
PROVIDENCE — Four Guatemalan nationals have been arrested for allegedly participating in a crime ring responsible for the thefts of thousands of dollars in merchandise from Home Depot stores, including ones in Seekonk, South Attleboro, Mansfield and Bellingham.
The suspects face charges of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen goods in U.S. District Court in Providence, the Rhode Island U.S. attorney’s office said Monday.
The suspects were identified as Marvin Estuardo Morales De Paz, 33, Abraham Dayger-Enrique, 24, Sebastian Lajuj-Soloman, 30, and Jonathan Josue Amperez-Perez, 31, all of Providence.
They allegedly worked together and with others to defraud Home Depot stores mainly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania by stealing electrical wire, flooring, power tools, and other high-value items and sometimes reselling the merchandise, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Seekonk police arrested one of the suspects outside the Home Depot on Route 6 on Dec. 23, 2020, and recovered almost $1,800 in flooring from that store and $750 in tools stolen from five other Home Depots, according to court records.
At the Mansfield Home Depot on Dec. 8, 2022, suspects stole a tub after trying to return it using the receipt of an identical tub purchased in a Boston store and used it to steal wiring, according to court records.
Later, they went to the Home Depot in South Attleboro and stole a cabinet through the same alleged deceit used in Mansfield, according to court records.
Federal authorities allege the four men and other co-conspirators have participated in more than 30 documented thefts.
The investigation revealed that, so far, 15 Guatemalan nationals have been identified as being associated with the alleged retail theft organization. However, it is believed that not all members of the group regularly participate in the theft operations, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
The suspects were charged based on information from multiple police departments, a review of security camera footage from numerous retailers, as well as the court-authorized search warrant seizures and review of cellphones seized from the suspects.
Last Friday, federal agents executed search warrants at homes in Cranston and Providence, resulting in the seizure of $11,000 worth of goods allegedly stolen from Home Depot and Kohls, $83,000 in cash, and a Ford 2019 F150 pickup truck.
Morales De Paz, Dayger-Enrique, and Lajuj-Soloman were arrested in Rhode Island last Friday and ordered detained in federal custody after initial court appearances. Amperez-Perez was apprehended in Pennsylvania and remains in federal custody awaiting a return to Rhode Island.