Nearly three years ago, a vendor at the Ontario Mall Antiques in Irondequoit noticed that two rings were missing from her display case.
The case, she told police, was always locked. So when she returned to the shop at 1850 E. Ridge Road, on April 24, 2018, she was flummoxed.
Irondequoit police investigated the theft, noting that other larcenies had occurred from the store around the same time. Officers partnered with troopers and federal authorities as the case grew.
By October of 2018, a federal grand jury had indicted two men that federal investigators believe are responsible for stealing valuables from not only the Irondequoit antique store, but from antique stores, a bowling alley and Kmart stores in four states.
The crime spree that 38-year-old Shawn A. Pena and 54-year-old Michael Kiser are accused of committing stretched over 25 days and took them from Illinois to New Jersey, according to the federal criminal complaint. Authorities charge that their crime spree netted the pair more than $88,000 in stolen cash and goods.
The charges against Pena and Kiser and the details of their accused crime spree were revealed in an indictment that was unsealed in late January, once both men were in custody, according to court records.
Pena was arrested in Illinois, according to court records. Kiser was arrested in Kentucky, based on a document filed on Tuesday.
Both men have been arraigned on one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. They are in custody awaiting further proceedings in US District Court in Erie, where their cases are being prosecuted. Pena and Kiser have each pleaded not guilty, according to court records… The Democrat & Chronicle