Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- An arrest warrant was issued for Nicholas Benjamin Tudela-Rojas in a $500,000 watches heist.
- Nicholas Benjamin Tudela-Rojas and two others are accused of breaking into Regal Watch Exchange in July in St. George.
- DNA evidence also linked Mario Munoz-Aliaga to the crime, court documents say.
ST. GEORGE — An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for the second of three men believed to have broken into a St. George jewelry store in July and stolen $500,000 worth of watches.
Nicholas Benjamin Tudela-Rojas, 35, was charged in 5th District Court with causing property damage and theft, second-degree felonies; burglary, a third-degree felony; property damage and using theft detection shields, class A misdemeanors; and damaging a communication device, a class B misdemeanor.
On July 14, at Regal Watch Exchange, located inside the Red Cliffs Mall, 1770 E. Red Cliffs Drive, police say surveillance video recorded three men entering the store by breaking through a wall shared with a vacant store. Regal Watch was closed at that time.
"Upon entering the back room of Regal Watch Exchange, the three male suspects identify the security camera in the upper corner of the back room. One of the males, who was initially carrying a radio frequency jamming device, climbed up onto a table and disconnected the camera as another male was seen stepping out into the sales area of the business and ripping the security alarm panel off the wall," according to charging documents.
The group then broke open a safe in a back room and stole approximately $500,000 in high-end watches, according to investigators.
Using DNA that was collected from the scene and put into a national database, police identified Mario Munoz-Aliaga, 38, of Los Angeles, as one of the possible burglars. He was charged in January in 5th District Court with theft and property damage, second-degree felonies; burglary, a third-degree felony; property damage and using theft detection shields, class A misdemeanors; and damaging a communication device, a class B misdemeanor.
It was determined that Munoz-Aliaga was in custody in San Diego for investigation of similar crimes. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
St. George police then received information from the San Diego Police Department about Munoz-Aliaga's known associates and were given about 13 names, including Tudela-Rojas'. Although the men in the St. George theft wore medical masks, one had a "distinctive scar on his right inner forearm, a red bracelet on his left wrist, and distinctive ears/earlobe," the charges state.
Police compared known pictures of Tudela-Rojas from detectives in San Diego and identified him as one of three men in the Utah case, according to court documents.
