Larceny attempt at Lowe's thwarted
By John Joyce
Published in News on December 14, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
Curtis Benjamin
Full Size
Alexandre Michael Regis
Full Size
Shane Ali
Full Size
Yadesh Rupal
The Goldsboro Police Department said four men from New York City arrested Saturday after a failed attempt at larceny from Lowe's Home Improvement store were not plotting to make bombs.
The men are, however, thought to responsible for thefts from stores in other North Carolina cities and in Virginia.
The FBI has been called in to assist with the investigation.
Goldsboro Interim Police Chief Mike West said the men were caught stealing sink parts and plumbing supplies, not materials for pipe bombs.
"It wasn't PVC pipes or pipe caps as some people have been speculating," West said. "These were strainers, faucets and cartridges, the things you would use to replace a leaking faucets," he said.
Yadesh Rupal, 21, Shane Ali, 22, Curtis Benjamin, 18, and Alexandre Michael Regis, 20, are each charged with a single count of larceny. All four men are being held in the Wayne County Jail under secured bonds set at $500,000.
West said that speculation on social media sites such as Facebook was driving concern the four men might have been linked to terrorism. Part of that might have been derived from the fact the men are from New York and two of them have Islamic-sounding names, he said.
"Some of the stuff I've have read indicated that might have had something to do with it," he said.
So far investigators have not determined why the suspects would leave New York, rent a car from Hertz, and travel through the mid-Atlantic states stealing sink supplies from Lowe's.
According to the police report, the theft took place at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Goldsboro police officer Pat Carcirieri was on patrol in the Lowe's parking lot at 1202 N. Berkeley Blvd. when he noticed a man running from the store. Behind him, another man was pushing a cart full of merchandise. Carcirieri then saw another man sitting in a parked four-door Nissan which was running with the lights off. A fourth man stood by the car's open trunk, the report said.
As Carcirieri pulled around, the men loaded the stolen merchandise into the car and took off.
The Nissan left the Lowe's parking lot, turned onto North Berkeley Boulevard and then pulled behind a church. The four men jumped out and ran, but with the assistance of citizens Carcirieri and responding officers were able to gather the suspects up and arrest them.
The men make their first court appearances today in Wayne County District Court.