Florida Officials Nab 3 Men in Vehicle Thefts

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that his Office of Statewide Prosecution has concluded two cases in Lee County against three men involved in separate vehicle-related thefts.

Two Lee County men received jail sentences for their reported connection with a ring that dealt in stolen motorcycle parts and one Collier County man was sent to prison for 56 months for stealing a dump truck. The two separate investigations were conducted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Sheriffs’ Office for Collier, Sarasota and Lee counties.

Earlier this week, Juan Hernandez Monzon, 28, and Rigoberto Monzon Sanchez, 27, each pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of dealing in stolen property for purchasing stolen motorcycles or motorcycles parts. Both Monzon, of Ft. Myers, and Sanchez, of Lehigh Acres, were sentenced to 30 days in jail, to be followed immediately by three years of probation.

Additionally, Monzon will be required to pay $9,450 and Sanchez will be required to pay $4,800 in restitution to the two victims of the motorcycle thefts. Their arrests and prosecutions were part of a large-scale investigation lead by the Grand Theft Auto Unit of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The regional motorcycle theft ring was operating in all of Southwest Florida, spanning from Sarasota County to Collier County.

Also in Lee County, Collier County resident Javier Barquin, 41, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stealing and damaging an $80,000 dump truck taken from a Sarasota tire facility. Barquin, of Naples, reportedly helped transport the stolen vehicle from Sarasota to Lee County. An anti-theft device alerted authorities, and the dump truck was located and placed under surveillance by the Florida Highway Patrol’s Arial Unit, and the Lee and Collier County Sheriff’s Offices.

The dump truck was quickly recovered, but had severe damage resulting from the initial theft. Barquin was sentenced to 56 months in prison and must pay back over $5,500 for the damage caused to the truck. Barquin was also previously sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for similar charges in Collier County.