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Cops eventually caught up to Diaz and Marmolejo at 130th Street and 23rd Avenue in College Point, where they allegedly recovered more than $6,000 worth of stolen Home Depot merchandise from the suspects’ vehicle.
By Forum Staff
Do not stop. Do not pass the cash register. Get out of Home Depot Free. That’s the game two Queens residents have been playing in Home Depot stores in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Two men have been arrested and charged with burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes after police say, they stole merchandise from Home Depot. Armando Diaz, 43, of 23rd Avenue in College Point, and Kevin Marmolejo, 21, of 59th Road in Maspeth allegedly filled their orange carts with merchandise and then walking out without paying.
Diaz, who works in the construction industry, is charged with taking building materials worth more than $14,000 from four stores between August 17, 2016, and January 10, 2017.
According to District Attorney Brown, “The defendants in this case are accused of going from store to store with the intent of stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. The men are accused of going on shopping sprees and then exiting the stores without stopping at the cashier to pay. One of the defendants, when apprehended, was allegedly in possession of fake twenty dollar bills. This kind of thievery will not be tolerated.” Both men have been arraigned on a criminal complaint charging them with third-degree burglary, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, third and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fifth-degree, were ordered back to court on January 25.
The authorities investigation of the “shopping spree” includes surveillance footage of Diaz and an un-apprehended individual seen entering the Home Depot store in Flushing, Queens, around 7 a.m. on August 17, 2016. About 40 minutes later, they are alleged to have walked out of the store by passing the cashier with a cart filled with 5-gallon drums of paint, sheets of plexiglass, bifold doors and other items worth just under $4,000.
Diaz was seen with another un-apprehended individual, again on video surveillance, entering the East Elmhurst Home Depot store at 7:15 a.m. on October 26, 2016. About 40 minutes later, the two walked out with a cart filled with light fixtures, more paint, plexiglass and doors without paying. These items were valued at about $4,500. According to criminal complaints, both Diaz and Marmolejo were observed leaving a Queens location and driving to the Home Depot located on Jericho Turnpike in Nassau County, Long Island, on January 10, 2017. They allegedly entered the store at 6 a.m. and left approximately 6:20 with a cart filled with RockSolid clear epoxy, a Tyvek house wrap, primer sealer, vinyl flooring, garbage bags and other merchandise valued at more than $3,500. After leaving the store they allegedly then drove to the Deer Park Home Depot on Commack Road in Suffolk County, where they filled a cart with recessed lighting, a Moen faucet fixture, ceiling medallion, a colored bulb and more, totaling around $2,500.
The defendants were stopped by police at 130th Street and 23rd Avenue where investigators recovered more than $6,000 worth of stolen Home Depot merchandise. Marmolejo also allegedly had $460 in counterfeit twenty dollar bills in his pocket. After the arrests were made, Marmolejo allegedly stated to police that the scheme was for him to stop near the cashier with the cart of building materials as Diaz spoke to a distracted employee at the self-checkout registers.
Marmolejo would only exit after hearing the Spanish word “salga”––to go or to leave–– from Diaz.
An amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, which went into affect in November 2016, permits prosecution for crimes allegedly committed in another contiguous county if the scheme of organized retail theft crimes are committed by two or more people.
Diaz, currently held on $100,000 bail, could face up to seven years in prison.
The bail for Marmolejo, who is additionally charged with first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, was set at $50,000 and he faces up to 15 years in prison.
