MARATHON, Fla. – Two Hialeah men used a semitruck to steal a large flatbed trailer, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said Agustin Rodriguez, 37, and Dayro Alonso, 35, were caught as they left with it heading northbound through Islamorada.
Recommended Videos
The trailer was a 48-foot flatbed with a forklift on it, which was parked across from Fred's Beds in Marathon. Deputies said a friend of the trailer's owner saw two men hooking it up to a semitruck at about 10:15 p.m. Friday.
He approached the men, and told them the trailer belonged to Global Disaster Recovery and that he is friends with the owner of the business.
Rodriguez and Alonso told him they were supposed to take the trailer to the weigh station, deputies said.
The witness called the owner and told him what he'd seen. Deputies said the owner then called the Sheriff's Office to report his trailer stolen.
A deputy was southbound working an escort detail, and spotted the truck and trailer as it passed him. The Sheriff's Office said the deputy notified other deputies of its location.
Another deputy was at the 70 mile marker of the highway and pulled in behind the truck as it passed him. He and other deputies stopped the truck at the 79 mile marker and confirmed it was pulling the stolen trailer, the Sheriff's Office said.
Driving the truck was the truck's registered owner, Rodriguez. Deputies said his passenger was identified as Alonso. Both men were arrested and charged with grand theft.
The semitruck was seized for possible forfeiture for its use in the commission of a felony, deputies said.