Cedar City police have made three more arrests in connection with a string of thefts at the local Home Depot. Five people were initially arrested earlier this month with suspected involvement.
Cedar city police obtained a search warrant for a residence in a rural area near 1100 South and 6300 West. After the search four men and one woman were taken into custody on March 6.
During the search of the property police found large amounts of stolen goods from Home Depot. Most of the merchandise was still in its original packaging. The stolen goods were estimated to be worth more than $47,000.
At the scene a safe was also recovered containing two firearms, a large amount of cash and a controlled substance believed to be methamphetamine. All five people arrested were employees of the same company whose owner lived at the residence that was searched.
On March 10 the property owner Edgardo Duque, 43, and his wife, Yojana Ester Garcia Rojop, 31, were taken into custody on second-degree felony theft charges. Their son, Andy Jouse Garcia Rojop, 18 was arrested two days later.
“Andy stated that the controlled substances in his parents’ safe were his,” the officer wrote in the affidavit . “He also stated that he was with his father’s employees on two occasions when they placed items into the cart and left the store without paying for them.”
The affidavit also says that Rojop told investigators he never placed any of the stolen goods in the cart and was unaware they weren’t being paid for.
“However, when the other people with him in the store were interviewed, they stated that he did know about the thefts at the time,” the affidavit states.
Duque and Rojop were also interviewed at the station. “They each stated that they knew that there was some methamphetamine in the safe with two firearms,” the affidavits said. “They also each knew or should have known that there was a large amount of stolen property from the Home Depot at the residence where they live.”
They were also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony as they had access to the safe the guns were found in.
Author: Andrew Streeter
Photo: Jeff Richards, St. George News
Editor: Hannah Clove
news@suunews.net
