Mugshot of Tito Franco. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A man suspected of burglarizing a restaurant in Orange Grove was arrested and charged.
According to court documents, Police were dispatched to Rosie's Bar and Restaurant on Friday to investigate a burglary at the establishment. The glass doors at the entrance were shattered, and inside the restaurant was in disarray, with equipment and furniture damaged. Responding officers also looked at the surveillance footage, which showed three men inside.
The restaurant owner said she left the establishment the previous evening and was only notified of the burglary when her sister arrived at 5:30 Friday morning. She told officers that among other items, she had placed approximately $320 worth of coins in a zippered plastic bag and placed it in the cash register along with paper currency.
Subsequently, officers came across a man walking along the roadside wearing pants and slippers that matched the clothing of one of the suspects seen in the surveillance video. As they approached, they noticed that he was sweating and trembling uncontrollably. Upon detention, the man was identified as Tito Franco. Among his other belongings, Franco was carrying $288.75 in coins, secured in a zippered plastic bag.
Franco was arrested, and declined to provide an official statement. According to police, however, he reportedly confessed to stealing from Rosie's but insisted that all he had taken was the bag of coins. He told officers that the two other perpetrators were from the John F. Kennedy public housing community, but said that he didn't know them personally.
Franco was charged with third-degree burglary, destruction of property, petit larceny, trespass, and buying, receiving or possessing stolen property. He was remanded into custody after failing to post the $25,000 initial bail requirement, and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
As of press time, however, public court records did not indicate whether Franco's advice of rights hearing before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross has indeed taken place.
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