Surveillance video and WhatsApp chat group messages led to the arrest of two men accused of stealing lawn equipment and trailers, according to a magistrate’s complaint filed in Superior Court.
Patrick Franklin Espinosa, 39, and his nephew Dylan Jay Rosario, 18, were both charged Monday with two counts of theft as a second-degree felony and one count of theft as a third-degree felony.
On Sept. 13, 2023, police met with a man in Barrigada who reported lawn equipment and other miscellaneous items were stolen from his second-floor patio. A Shindaiwa bush cutter and blower, with a combined value of $1,100, were taken.
Surveillance video circulating on chat groups showed two men in a black sedan with a white rear bumper entering the property, running upstairs and running downstairs with the equipment, according to the complaint.
Two days later, a man in Yigo said a trailer valued at $2,600 was taken from a home where he was housesitting for a family member. Photos and messages were circulating on WhatsApp groups warning people to be on the lookout for someone committing thefts in Mangilao and Macheche, and photos circulating on the chats depicted Espinosa, the complaint stated.
Police received a video showing Espinosa’s black Nissan sedan with a white rear bumper towing the stolen trailer, according to the complaint.
On Sept. 18, a woman reported that a trailer valued at $2,000 that she’d borrowed for funeral arrangements had been stolen on Sept. 15. A video circulating on WhatsApp showed a black Nissan with a white rear bumper pulling up to a fenced apartment complex. A man is seen getting out of the car, going to the rear of the vehicle and getting back in the car as it pulls away with a utility trailer.
On Saturday, police interviewed Espinosa, who said he stole the trailers with his nephew, Rosario, according to the complaint.
He said the trailer taken from the apartment complex was ditched in Mangilao, and the lawn equipment was sold on Guam Grabs. Espinosa said he owned the vehicle, but had since sold it.
Rosario told police Espinosa was his uncle, but he didn’t know anything about the stolen items.
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