The four men drove semi-trailer trucks for the Florida Beauty trucking
company. They were transporting the goods to a Publix warehouse at 777
SW 12th Avenue in Deerfield Beach.
Two security workers at Publix, became suspicious after noticing a pattern of missing food.
They decided to follow one driver. They soon noticed him meeting up with the other three drivers, said detectives.
Security employees took video of their meeting and witnessed the men
taking boxes of lobster, shrimp, ribs and other foods out of the four
trailers, and they placed it into their cabins, police said.
They stole about $3,532 worth of food during that incident. Police
recovered the food, but they were no longer safe for use and were
discarded.
Police arrested Jorge Gonzalez, 60, Cancio-Quintero, 44, Wilde Dominguez-Valderrama, 43, and Jorge Diaz, 44.
They were charged with grand theft and vehicle burglary.
Dale Miller, who is the attorney for all four men, argued that “they had
access to the cargo container. They had permission to go into the
container. The allegation that they went into it at an improper time
does not rise to the level of a burglary.”
However, Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder told the judge that every
truck has a security seal, which was to be removed by an employee of
Publix when the goods reached the warehouse and therefore, the drivers
were not granted access.
“Once that seal is in place, the only person with legal authority to
enter that portion of the truck is someone at the receiving location and
a Publix employee,” Linder said.
