Man Accused Of $60K Jewelry Theft; 2 Others Also Charged: WPD

WESTPORT, CT — A 27-year-old Bronx, New York man was arrested on warrant on Friday charging him with first-degree larceny in connection with the theft of $60,000 worth of jewelry from a home in Westport earlier this month, according to police. At the time of his arrest, two other men were in the same vehicle and also were charged with separate but related violations.

Accused of the theft is Franco Saladrigas-Garcia, who also was charged with third-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.

The case began on night of April 11 when the homeowners of a house in the northwest part of Westport reported to police that their home had been burglarized.

Police said the victims had been out of the house for a few hours that evening, and when they returned they found that someone had forcibly broken into the home and ransacked several bedrooms. (To sign up for Westport breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"It was ultimately determined that a number of high dollar jewelry items had been stolen, having a total approximate value exceeding $60,000.00," said Westport police. "An extensive investigation into this incident was conducted by members of the detective bureau. This investigation included the gathering of surveillance footage from a neighborhood canvas as well as information sharing with a number of other law enforcement agencies. Through this cooperation, detectives were able to develop a suspect in this crime, identified as Franco Saladrigas-Garcia."

Westport detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Saladrigas-Garcia, and on April 17, they learned that he would be traveling through the area on the Merritt Parkway and apprehended him with the help of state police.

"Two passengers in the vehicle at the time of the stop were identified as Nester Sotillo and Aldo Athanasopoulos," Westport police said. "Among other potential evidence found within the vehicle, observed within the passenger compartment were several pairs of gloves, a crow bar and large knife. The crow bar found in the vehicle appeared to match the tool used to perpetrate the Westport burglary based on matching physical evidence found at the scene."

Both Sotillo, 25, of Yonkers, NY, and Athanasopoulos, 26, of the Bronx, were charged with possession of burglary tools and possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. The two were released after each posted bond on bail of $10,000.

Saladrigas-Garcia was released after posting bond on bail of $110,000; all three are scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on April 24.

"This investigation remains active at this time by this and other agencies," said Westport police.