Police have arrested three men they say are part of an organized theft ring that bilked a local hardware store of over $55,000 worth of products, and police have arrest warrants out for two more.
Deputy Chief Joel Dolan said police arrested a former employee of Lowe’s, Alex Serrano, 36, on May 1 and charged him with theft by deception, a Class A felony. On Wednesday, police charged two more men: Kelvin Trinidad, 36, of Lawrence, Mass. and Lucas Almonte, 41, of Methuen, Mass. Trinidad and Almonte are both charged with multiple counts of organized retail crime enterprise and willful concealment thefts of over $1,500, all felonies.
Dolan said Serrano would mark down products such as tools, copper wires and ladders to free or severely discounted prices and coordinate this with buyers over a three-month period. In one transaction, Dolan said Serrano discounted a product priced at $3,000 down to $200. He said crimes like these don’t happen every day, but they aren’t… NH Union Leader
