Two Miami Cubans arrested for major cigarette theft in Virginia

Ramón Izquierdo, 57, of Hialeah, and Alberto Rico Pérez, 31, of Miami Gardens, were arrested the previous week accused of the robbery at Merchants Grocery Company, the night of March 23, along with three other suspects.

08/05/2024 - 1:13pm (GMT-5) |

Two Cubans from Miami-Dade were arrested by the theft of a large shipment of cigarettes at a business in Culpeper, Virginia, last March, police announced.

Ramon Izquierdo, 57, of Hialeah, and Alberto Rico Perez, 31, of Miami Gardens, were arrested the previous week accused of robbery at Merchants Grocery Company, on the night of March 23, along with three other suspects, authorities reported this Monday.

After their arrest in Miami-Dade, Izquierdo and Rico will be extradited to Virginia, where they will face counts of felony robbery, felony conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of felony grand larceny.

The five suspects, as shown by the business's surveillance cameras, they entered by force, around 9:00 p.m., They stole a considerable amount of cartons of cigarettes and they loaded them into a truck rented by Merchants, which they stole to flee the scene, the police said.

As a result of the investigation conducted by law enforcement in collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and law enforcement agencies in New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, was found on stolen truck and, on May 3, officers from the City of Doral Police Department and the Miami-Dade Fugitive Task Force arrested Izquierdo and Pérez.

Both They are being held without bail. at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and will be extradited to Virginia to stand trial.

Police continue to investigate persons of interest in connection with the case and said more charges could be filed.

Culpeper Police Chief Chris Settle said in a statement that “the actions these criminals carried out in our city had a significant impact on the local business community.”

“Using emerging technology and dogged investigative determination, our detectives and analysts worked tirelessly with law enforcement agencies and federal partners across the East Coast,” the official acknowledged. “Technology has become an integral part of modern policing, but it is the men and women behind the technology who truly make it effective. Thank you to our partner agencies for your continued help and cooperation.”