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Monday, June 15, 2009

Stop For Seatbelt Violations Yields Thousands In Stolen Merchandise

Location of Incident: Coastal Highway, north of Munchy Branch Road, Rehoboth, Delaware, Sussex County

Date of Occurrence: Sunday, June 14th, 2009, at approximately 6:49 p.m.

Suspect(s):
Juan Ricardo Rayo Romero, 32, of Queens, New York
Maria Cristina Gomez Reyes, 52, of Corona, New York

Resume: Police officers here in Delaware will tell you that enforcing the state’s seatbelt law saves lives. They will also tell you that while conducting this type of enforcement, other good things happen too.

On Sunday, June 13th, a Troop 7 patrol officer was conducting seatbelt enforcement in the area of Route 1 when a van traveled by the officer in which the passenger was not belted. A traffic stop ensued and the van pulled over on Coastal Highway, just north of Munchy Branch Road.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Maria Cristina Gomez Reyes and the passenger was identified as Juan Richardo Rayo Romero. Neither occupant had a valid driver’s license nor was the van properly insured. During this contact with the operator, the Trooper noticed a large quantity of merchandise in the back of the van. The property, which consisted mainly of clothing items, was stored in double lined plastic bags (a method of concealing merchandise in order to defeat shoplifting sensors).

Through the officer’s investigation, it was determined that the merchandise was stolen from twelve (12) different stores at the Rehoboth area outlets. In all, $8,969.50 in stolen merchandise was recovered and returned to the merchants in Rehoboth… all because of a seatbelt violation.

The two suspects were each charged with the following offenses:
Nine counts of Shoplifting (misdemeanor)
One count of Conspiracy (felony)
Three counts of Shoplifting (felony)
One count of Possession of Shoplifting Tools (felony)

Ms. Reyes was also charged with Driving without a License and No Proof of Insurance. She was committed to the Sussex Correctional Institute in lieu of $29,200.00 secured bond. Mr. Romero was committed to the Sussex Correctional Institute in lieu of $28,000.00 secured bond.

Maria Cristina Gomez Reyes


Juan Ricardo Rayo Romero

Editors Note: Perfect timing, eh!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the border patrol should of stopped them a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

Mexicans don't come from NY, they come from Mexico. They are probably Puerto Rican-anon 2:05-the super slueth that you are should have told you that.

Anonymous said...

Nice stop, Troop 7.

Anonymous said...

They aint from Fkg Williards. I dont care what route they took.

Anonymous said...

WOW now they can pay off all the states money problems, if they sell them , like wicomico county sheriffs office gets cars from drug dealers.
Good idea.

Anonymous said...

2:28
ROAR!!!!!!!!!! oh that was funny

Anonymous said...

They just come here to work.

thomas augustus littleton said...

We don't need no stinking immigration laws!

For punishment, these two should be forced to go out for a night of drinking with Ted Kennedy, then have him drive them home over the bridges of Madison County!