Southington Cops Catch 'Fence' With $92K Worth Of Goods: Report

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A man arrested for the second time in an ongoing case involving fenced goods was caught this month with more than $90,000 with of merchandise stolen from Home Depot, Southington police said.

According to a police report, authorities in Southington received a complaint in October accusing 40-year-old Francisco Martorell of selling high-end power tools online. Police said Martorell had already been investigated several times for acting as a fence in a commercial burglary ring. He was charged with organized retail theft in February 2020.

Police said a fence is best described as "an individual who acts as a middle man between thieves and buyer who knowingly buys stolen goods to later sell the items for profit." Police said the investigation found Martorell would correspond with accomplices and discuss items they wanted stolen. Martorell would then post the items on his Facebook Marketplace and/or his offerup.com page for sale, according to a police report.

The latest investigation confirmed Martorell had "many items for sale" and all appeared to be new, police said. A search of Martorell's residence yielded 349 items, consisting primarily of new, boxed merchandise, according to a police report. Home Depot employees confirmed that most of the items seized were sold in their stores and were able to provide video surveillance of thefts, according to a police report.

A total of $93,104.86 worth of Home Depot merchandise was seized from Martorell's residence, police said.

The investigation concluded Martorell "was aware that he was in possession of stolen property," according to a warrant.

On July 22, Martorell surrendered at Southington police headquarters, where he was charged with first-degree larceny. Martorell was released on a $20,000 bond and is slated to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Aug. 5.