According to Florida authorities, the two suspects have faced dozens of serious charges for an organized cargo theft operation that targeted multiple businesses and resulted in the theft of wooden pallets and 25 semi-trailers worth more than $700,000.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), 45-year-old Bobby John Herrera and 36-year-old Nicholas Nigel Howard face a total of 67 felony charges.
Herrera is the owner of JCI Pallet, a pallet supply company based in Plant City, Florida.
PCSO began investigating cargo theft gangs in late July 2021. Previously, there were reports of seven thefts from two different distribution centers-Saddle Creek Logistics Service Center in Auburndale and Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Winter Haven. A semi-trailer containing a large number of wooden pallets.
The police were able to link Herrera to the theft/theft of three semi-trailers full of pallets.
Security videos from Saddle Creek Logistics and Walmart's distribution center show that Herrera drove his company's 2015 Freightliner into the facility and illegally dismantled semi-truck trailers full of wooden pallets, waiting for delivery to other distribution centers and businesses. Police said Herrera was able to bypass the security procedures at the distribution center and steal the trailer and its contents.
According to reports, when the PCSO detective went to the JCI Pallet location and met with Herrera and showed him a security video, he told the police, "It looks like me."
Herrera was arrested in September but was later released on bail of $4,000.
As the investigation continued, the police learned that Howard, the site manager of JCI Pallet, assisted Herrera in removing the stolen trailer full of pallets from two different distribution centers, affecting four different companies-Saddle Creek Logistics, Walmart, 48Forty Solutions and Monison trays.
Police said that during May, June and July 2021, Herrera and Howard planned and coordinated the theft of 25 semi-trailers, including nearly 5,000 wooden pallets. The total value of the stolen trailer and pallet was approximately US$935,663.
The police were able to track the stolen trailers to JCI Pallet, where they were emptied before being returned or abandoned. All stolen trailers were recovered.
PCSO also stated that the business of Smith and Company in Alabama hired Herrera to deliver the pallets to Saddle Creek Logistical Solutions. Herrera never delivered the product. Instead, it submitted a fraudulently signed bill of lading and an invoice for the pallet that was never delivered.
"My detective, in cooperation with the Plant City Police Department, has done a great job investigating this organized crime company. When the company has to increase costs to deal with such losses, such theft can have a negative impact on consumers. . We will work hard to ensure that Herrera and Howard are responsible for the theft of these goods. They will have no chance of stealing in prison," PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd said.