Alleged gang members charged in $50K lottery ticket theft spree in Massachusetts, NH
SEABROOK — Six men were arrested this week for allegedly committing a spree of convenience store break-ins and lottery ticket thefts.
Forty-three rolls of different scratch tickets were stolen from Richdale Convenience Store at 472 Lafayette Road in Seabrook in the early hours of March 19. Three men committed that break-in, two entering the store at 3:57 a.m. and one acting as the lookout, according to an Essex County district attorney press release.
Those men and three others were taken into custody Wednesday in multiple cities after police concluded their investigation named “Operation Smash & Cash.” Police spent three months investigating at least 12 break-ins into convenience stores in Essex and Middlesex counties, as well as parts of New Hampshire.
The district attorney’s office said the men are associates of the Trinitarios gang, a Dominican American criminal organization with its roots in New York City. They say the men broke glass windows to gain access to many of the stores in the spree, though they did not specify how they got into the Richdale in Seabrook.
Seabrook Police Chief Brett Walker was not available to comment on the break-in other than a statement that their “detectives worked with several other agencies in communities victimized by this group."
More: Portsmouth police arrest 'thrill-seeking' car thief spanning multiple towns
The spree began Feb. 27 when police in Swampscott, Massachusetts, responded to a Citgo gas station for a break-in at 6:04 a.m., according to the district attorney’s office. The middle glass window of the store was broken, and more than 300 Massachusetts scratch tickets were stolen, according to the office.
In the following weeks, police said the men hit Massachusetts stores in Saugus, Wakefield, Peabody and Marblehead before making their way to Seabrook.
Other places hit in the spree included the Village Market in Fremont on March 27, where scratch tickets were stolen and later cashed in Derry, according to the district attorney. Break-ins then were reported in Windham and the Massachusetts communities of Wilmington, Peabody and Lynn.
Police did not say which three men allegedly broke into the Richdale in Seabrook. The six arrested are David Garcia, 22, of Lynn, Darwin Batista, 20, of Lynn, Angel Santos, 24, of Lynn, Israel Garcia, 22, of Methuen, Westyn Lantigua, 23, of Lynn, and Aaron Diaz Liranzo, 25, of Revere.
The men were charged with a total of 121 indictments, including larceny, wanton destruction, receiving stolen property, money laundering and improper use of credit cards. The total value they stole was allegedly $50,000.
Arrests were made in Revere, Lawrence, Swampscott, Methuen and Lynn, according to the district attorney. Police from Exeter and Fremont, New Hampshire, also assisted with the investigation. The men were arraigned in superior court and are being held without bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for May 8 and 10.
“These indictments and arrests are a reflection of the tremendous partnerships between state and local agencies and represent how law enforcement and prosecutors from my office work tirelessly and side-by-side to solve and prosecute crimes perpetrated by criminal networks,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Six charged in $50K lottery ticket theft spree in Massachusetts, NH
