Union City NJ Man Accused of Stealing Tractor-Trailer in Pennsylvania, Transporting $38K Worth of Beer to Saddle Brook NJ
A New Jersey man has been accused of stealing a beer-filled tractor-trailer in Pennsylvania.
According to authorities, the tractor-trailer went missing from Shani Transport, Inc. in 2012. The corporation is located in Williams Township, PA. The tractor-trailer was filled with Guinness beer valued at $38,000.
A day after the tractor-trailer was reported missing, it was found in Passaic, NJ. Meanwhile, the beer was found in a warehouse in Saddle Brook, NJ.
The Saddle Brook Police Department investigated and eventually arrested several people, including 53-year-old Union City resident Horacio Llerena-Martinez.
According to police, Mr. Llerena-Martinez admitted that he drove from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and stole the tractor-trailer. After hot-wiring the vehicle, he allegedly drove the vehicle to the warehouse in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, where the beer was unloaded.
Mr. Llerena-Martinez was charged with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
In New Jersey, receiving stolen property is governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7. According to the statute, receiving stolen property can be classified as a third degree crime if the property is valued at less than $75,000.00. Although Mr. Llerena-Martinez has been charged in Pennsylvania, if he had faced this charge in New Jersey, he would have been looking at a sentence of up to five (5) years in NJ State Prison.
After his arrest, Mr. Llerena-Martinez was being held at Northampton County Prison in PA on $75,000 bail.
For more information about this case, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Union City Man Steals Tractor-Trailer Filled with $38K Worth of Guinness Beer, Police Say.“