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LAYTON — The recent arrests of three people in Layton for allegedly shoplifting at a Ross store may be tied to a much bigger racket, according to court documents.
In March, Helix Rodrigeuz-Cepero, 30, Yunier Nodarse-Hernandez, 37, and Idalmys Rodriguez-Hernandez, 49, all of Florida, were arrested and later charged in Davis County's 2nd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a first-degree felony.
But the investigation into the trio continued after their arrests, according to a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit filed in June in 2nd District Court.
When Cepero was arrested, Layton police found more than $7,000 worth of stolen merchandise in his car from the Ross store he allegedly just robbed, the warrant states, including 27 pairs of shoes, according to a Davis County Jail booking report.
Investigators also found multiple receipts from Federal Express in the car "showing large amounts of packages being shipped to Florida," according to the warrant.
The jail report states that "hundreds of pounds of parcels (were) shipped from Colorado and Utah over the past several weeks. There were also receipts and documents showing that this group traveled from Florida stopping at cities along the way."
Charging documents updated that figure to show more than 1,100 pounds of merchandise worth more than $30,000 were shipped to Florida by the group.
Police believe Cepero and his crew were stealing from stores across the nation, including Ross stores in Salt Lake County and Farmington, the warrant states, by removing security tags from merchandise and walking out with it.
"It is known that these three suspects traveled to multiple Ross stores in more than one state, shipping property to Florida," according to the warrant. "Shortly after the above suspects were arrested in Layton, individuals who were receiving stolen property in Florida were arrested for a multimillion dollar criminal enterprise in Florida for shipping stolen items from Florida to Cuba."
"The group is an organized theft gang and have shown they will flee from officers. Evidence suggests they have committed thefts across the country and time is needed to contact those agencies and identify additional crimes possibly rising to the level of federal prosecution. It is likely these individuals will flee the country if released," the jail report added.
