More Than $30K In Electronics Stolen, Found In North Broward County.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — An ex-employee of the T-Mobile store in the Boynton Beach Mall allegedly returned to the store after it closed for Hurricane Nicole — gained entrance — and stole $30,000 worth of phones and other electronics. But Nicolas Castellanos apparently forgot to turn off the GPS tracker that was mixed into the equipment he allegedly stole.
The tracker revealed that the equipment exited the store, moved down I-95, then became stationary at a house in the northern Broward County town of Margate. Video surveillance of the actual theft indicated the thief looked a lot like Castellanos who had recently been fired. Castellanos had allegedly texted other employees that he planned to “empty out” the safe. He still had a key to the store and access to the safe at the time of the burglary.
Police eventually met up with Castellanos outside his home when they executed a traffic stop. According to a report reviewed by BocaNewsNow.com, a black bag was seen in the car — a bag containing 26 various iPhones.
Castellanos was charged with grand theft and the rarely used charge of “burglary to an unoccupied structure during a state of emergency” as the alleged crime was committed after the state of emergency was in effect due to the pending hurricane.
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Nicolas Castellanos, of the 6900 block of Margate, was booked into the Palm Beach County jail and later released on $7500 bond.
