South FL Ventilator Thief Arrested In Texas Thursday: DOJ

MIAMI, FL — A South Florida man arrested Thursday in Del Rio, Texas, has been charged in connection with the theft of 192 U.S. government-owned medical ventilators worth about $3 million, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

According to court documents, the ventilators stolen by 42-year-old Yoelvis “Guajiro” Denis Hernandez were heading to a COVID-19 intensive care facility in El Salvador as part of a U.S. government COVID-19 aid program when they were stolen in South Florida while in transit.

The indictment charges Hernandez and Luis “Flaco” Urra Montero, 24, with federal conspiracy, possession of stolen goods being shipped interstate and theft of government property, the DOJ said.

According to the indictment and other court documents, on Aug. 9, Hernandez and Montero stole a tractor-trailer loaded with the ventilators on its way to the Miami International Airport, where they would be shipped to El Salvador to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients there.

They stole the trailer from a lot where the driver had left it overnight. Following an investigation, law enforcement recovered most of the stolen ventilators, the DOJ said.

Hernandez made his initial federal court appearance Friday in the Western District of Texas. Future proceedings will occur in the Southern District of Florida, where the case is pending.

Montero was arrested Sept. 15 in South Florida. He is being detained without bond pending trial.