2 men who stole $315,000 from Family Dollar stores in Phoenix, Glendale arrested
Oct 10, 2024, 7:00 PM
PHOENIX — Two men have been arrested in connection with a string of costly burglaries targeting Family Dollar stores across the Valley, according to authorities.
The Phoenix Police Department announced the arrests of 34-year-old Yosvanys Martinez and 40-year-old Alexei Alvarez on Thursday.
It took an investigation with multiple special units to catch Martinez and Alvarez.
The two are suspected of coordinating burglaries against nine different Family Dollar stores across Phoenix and Glendale.
How did suspects allegedly break into Valley Family Dollar stores?
They allegedly cut power to the stores, disabled video surveillance and broke in through the back doors of the Family Dollar stores.
Martinez and Alvarez would then steal the stores’ safes or break into them to steal the cash, police said.
They allegedly threw away evidence of their crimes in the Gila River.
In total, the men stole $315,000, police said. In addition to that, they also allegedly caused $150,000 in property damage.
Police found $40,000 in cash, security uniforms and burglary tools while executing search warrants the suspects’ residences. They also found two safes related to the burglaries, police said.
The two men were booked on multiple burglary charges on Oct. 4.
No further details were released.