MIAMI — Two South Florida neighbors who said they were assisting in cleanup after Hurricane Ian were arrested Sunday after they were caught stealing from a business in storm-stricken Lee County, according to deputies.
Ernesto Heriberto Pedroso Martinez, 34, and Noel Morales, 54, of South Miami-Dade are facing charges of grand theft of over $750 but less than $5,000. The men — who live in the same neighborhood just outside Florida City — remained in custody of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office as of Monday afternoon, jail records show.
According to the men’s arrest reports, a shop owner who wasn’t identified by the sheriff’s office had left a white refrigerator, screen doors and aluminum fence panels — valued at over $1,500 — in front of his business due to water damage from Ian. When the owner got to the shop, he received a phone call from a person who said they saw two men taking the property and loading it into a trailer attached to their truck.
As the duo continued loading the items, the owner walked into their trailer and told them that they were stealing from him. That’s when, according to the owner, Morales shoved him out of the trailer and closed the door, while Pedroso Martinez got into the passenger side of the truck. But before the men took off, the sheriff’s office says both the shop owner and the witness took pictures of the vehicles, a 2010 maroon Ford F-250 and a Diamond Cargo trailer.
Later, deputies say they spotted the men inside the truck with the attached trailer five minutes away from the shop. All of the property was recovered after deputies searched the trailer and the men were arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a statement published Sunday on Facebook, the sheriff’s office said the men claimed they were assisting in the cleanup efforts following the hurricane’s landfall nearly two weeks ago.
“Those who prey on vulnerable victims during a state of emergency will be charged to the fullest extent,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “I’ve said it several times; you may walk in, but we’ll carry you out.”
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