Two New York men were arrested May 3 in Mount Airy and charged with felony theft related to an alleged attempt to purchase nearly $7,000 worth of steaks from Wagner’s Meats, according to Carroll County District Court documents.
A deportation warrant has been issued for one of the men, who is a citizen of the Dominican Republic and entered the United States two years ago.
Carlos Jaques, 26, and Julio Santiago, 28, both of Bronx, New York, were arrested May 3 after police said they allegedly participated in a theft scheme during which a stolen credit card was used to purchase $6,689.13 worth of steaks and short ribs from Wagner’s Meats in Mount Airy.
According to charging documents, shop owner Michael Wagner called the Mount Airy Police Department on May 2 to report suspicious activity after a bulk order for the meats was purchased over the phone. Later, a man left a voicemail with the store saying his credit card had been used to make an unauthorized purchase there.
Wagner told police that the suspicious order was scheduled to be picked up on May 3, according to the charging documents, and when a black Chevy Equinox arrived to retrieve the order, police detained Santiago, who was driving, and Jaques, who had a receipt for the order.
According to the charging documents, Santiago told the Mount Airy police that Jaques asked him to drive to Mount Airy to pick up the order. Santiago said he had been delivering meat to restaurants in the Bronx after making pickups in various surrounding states.
Police said they determined one of the credit cards used to purchase $2,545.42 of the order belonged to the man who had called to report the unauthorized charge.
Mount Airy police arrested Jaques and Santiago and charged both with two counts of felony theft and multiple credit card fraud charges.
On May 3 a deportation warrant was issued for Jaques by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The warrant, signed by Darius Reeves, Baltimore’s ICE field office director, states that Jaques entered the U.S. in November 2022 at San Luis, Arizona. A detainer for Jaques from the Department of Homeland Security states that Jaques is a citizen of the Dominican Republic.
After a May 6 bail review hearing, Jaques was ordered held without bail and Santiago was released on his own recognizance.
Laura Morton, who is listed as the defense attorney for Jaques, could not be reached for comment. Santiago is represented by the Carroll County Public Defender’s Office, which declined a request for comment.
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