BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two teenagers from Connecticut have been arraigned on charges of breaking and entering in connection with a nighttime robbery at a high-end store in Boston.
Boston Police arrested 18-year-old Alexander Mann of Stonington, Conn. and 18-year-old Carlos Espinoza of Westbrook, Conn. at around 3 a.m. on Friday, after receiving a call for breaking and entering at Bottega Venetta on Boylston Street.
BPD said witnesses reported seeing two males exiting the store after a window had been smashed, with merchandise in their hands. Officers immediately located two men walking down Boylston Street carrying multiple items in their hands.
When police pulled up to the side of the road, they observed the men dropping the items on to the sidewalk. When officers asked where they got the discarded sunglasses from, the suspects told police "someone had broken into the store, and they went inside and took the items." Officers also found multiple pairs of sunglasses in both of the suspects’ pockets.
According to Suffolk Country District Attorney Rachel Rollins, since the value of the stolen merchandise was above $1,200, Mann and Espinoza are facing felony charges.
“These young men took more than $14,000 worth of luxury goods for their own benefit," said DA Rollins. "It was a crime of greed. The store owner does not deserve, and should not have to endure, this type of behavior. It is my hope that much of the recovered merchandise will be returned to the store, undamaged."
At the request of Assistant District Attorney John Mooney, a judge set bail at $500 for each of the men, and ordered them both to stay away from the City of Boston.
"To be clear," said Rollins, "this is not a crime that is on my 'List of 15' low-level misdemeanors where the majority of the individuals charged have substance use disorders, mental health traumas, and food and housing insecurities. No. The instant charges are felonies where $14,000 worth of merchandise was stolen. Very different.”
Mann and Espinoza are next scheduled to appear virtually before a judge on August 20th.
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