2 St. Pete Men Arrested In Multi-County Retail Theft Scheme: FL Officials

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Two St. Petersburg men were arrested after a years-long retail theft investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a news release.

Raydel Amado Gines Prieto, 52, and Erisniel Melgarejo Rodriguez, 36, were each charged with two counts each of organized retail theft.

At the time of the arrest warrant, Gines Prieto was in custody on unrelated charges, FDLE said.

Melgarejo Rodriguez was taken into custody on the FDLE arrest warrant on March 2 by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail.

FDLE’s Organized Retail Crime Squad launched the investigation in December 2023 after asset protection representatives from a major retailer reported two people stealing from home improvement stores across multiple west Florida counties.

The investigation found that the merchandise was stolen using different methods, including under-scanning items at self-checkout kiosks, fulfilling fraudulent returns and exiting stores with shopping carts of unpaid merchandise, FDLE said.

The thefts resulted in a loss of more than $370,000 in stolen merchandise.

Agents identified Gines Prieto and Melgarejo Rodriguez as the suspects. Further investigation linked the pair to more than 150 retail theft incidents since August 2023.

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