A man and a woman were arrested on Sunday for allegedly stealing an iPad from a local Walmart and heroin possession.
On June 13, a man and a woman were caught on surveillance video stealing an iPad from a shopping cart inside the Walmart in Rio Grande, NJ. On Sunday police say a Walmart employee spotted the male suspect as he was exiting the store parking lot in his vehicle. Police also say a woman matching the description of the female suspect was seen pulling into the parking lot.
A police officer who had been investigating the theft arrived at the scene and recognized both suspects, later identified as Gabriel Pagan-Valentin, 28, of Wildwood and Karla Almonte-Santiago, 19, of Wildwood Crest. Investigators say Santiago was arrested without incident. Valentin, however, resisted and tried to flee, according to police. After a brief struggle, police say he was secured in a police vehicle.
After the arrest, police say both suspects were found to be in possession of 5 ½ bricks of heroin (271 bags packaged in bundles of 15) and around $800 in cash. They were both charged with theft and conspiracy to commit theft, possession of heroin with the intent to distribute ad possession of heroin. Valentin was also charged with resisting arrest and attempt to escape.
Santiago was held on $15,000 bail while Valentin was held on $35,000. They were both committed to the Cape May County Correctional Center.
