Three men charged with stealing 400 hay bales in Barceloneta
Police say the suspects were caught transporting the stolen hay valued at $4,000; a judge ordered them held in Bayamón prison after they could not post bail.
PhotoThe short version
- El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora reported that Edxadier Domínguez Luyando, 31, Keniel Cordova Rodríguez, 18, and Anthony Martínez Rosario, 35 or 30, face charges of serious illegal appropriation
- Police say the theft of 400 hay bales worth $4,000 occurred Thursday afternoon from a private farm in barrio Punta Palma, Barceloneta
- Officers from multiple units stopped a 2015 gray Ford F-250 with a trailer carrying the bales on PR-681 and seized the vehicle
- Judge Rafael Lugo Morales found probable cause Friday and set $20,000 bail each; the men were sent to Bayamón prison as they did not post it
Arrest and charges
Three men were arrested after police intervened with a vehicle carrying hay bales allegedly stolen from a farm in Barceloneta. El Nuevo Día reported that the incident took place Thursday afternoon on PR-681 in barrio Punta Palma. Agents from Strike Force units in Arecibo and Bayamón, the Motorized Unit, Stolen Vehicles, and FURA participated in the operation.
The suspects were identified as Edxadier Domínguez Luyando, 31, Keniel Cordova Rodríguez, 18, and Anthony Martínez Rosario, listed as 35 by El Nuevo Día and 30 by Primera Hora. Police said they had taken approximately 400 bales valued at $4,000. Agent Alexander Irizarry Astor of the CIC Arecibo Property Crimes Division consulted with prosecutor Ismael Ortiz Roldán, who ordered the vehicle seized and filed charges.
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Court proceedings
Judge Rafael Lugo Morales of the Arecibo court found probable cause for arrest on Friday afternoon against all three men on charges of serious illegal appropriation. Primera Hora reported that each was ordered to post $20,000 bail. Since none posted bail, they were committed to the Bayamón Correctional Institution.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 30. Earlier reports on Thursday and Friday by Primera Hora and El Vocero gave preliminary information with slightly different details on the investigating agent and ages before formal charges were filed.
Where the sources differ
All four sources agree on the theft of roughly 400 hay bales valued at $4,000 from a Barceloneta farm, the stop on PR-681 involving a gray 2015 Ford F-250 with trailer, the three suspects, the $20,000 bail each set by Judge Rafael Lugo Morales, and the Oct. 30 preliminary hearing. They differ on the third suspect’s age (35 in El Nuevo Día, 30 in Primera Hora’s second story, 30 in El Vocero and Primera Hora’s first story) and the lead investigator (Alexander Irizarry Astor in the two later stories versus Carlos Sierra Rodríguez under supervisors in the earlier Primera Hora and El Vocero reports).
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state whether the owner of the farm has recovered the hay bales, the exact condition of the seized vehicle and trailer, what the suspects told police, or any possible motive for the theft. They also do not indicate whether additional witnesses or evidence beyond the traffic stop were part of the investigation.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting De la finca a prisión: radican cargos contra tres hombres que habrían robado 400 pacas de heno
- Reporting Presos los tres sospechosos de robar pacas de heno de una finca
- Reporting Roban 400 pacas de heno de una finca y pillan a tres con el presunto botín
- Reporting Arrestan a tres personas tras presunto robo de 400 pacas de heno en Barceloneta
How we checked this
El Nuevo Día and the two Primera Hora articles supplied the names, exact charges, judge’s decision and final disposition to Bayamón prison. The earlier Primera Hora and El Vocero stories provided initial details of the intervention and participating units but left identities and formal charges for later reports. The value, location and vehicle description are consistent across all sources used.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.