After getting nailed by cops earlier this month for shoplifting from several local Home Depot stores, a Maspeth man has admitted in court this week to committing the crime, prosecutors announced.
Kevin Marmolejo, 21, of 59th Road plead guilty on Wednesday, Jan. 25, to a third-degree burglary charge; he faces a sentence of six months in jail followed by five years’ probation, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
Law enforcement sources said Marmolejo and an accomplice — Armando Diaz, 43, of College Point — were stopped by police on Jan. 10 while driving a van full of stolen Home Depot merchandise at the intersection of 130th Street and 23rd Avenue in College Point.
According to prosecutors, the pair were observed leaving a Queens location that morning and driving out to a Home Depot on Jericho Turnpike in Nassau County. They allegedly entered the store at 6 a.m. and left 20 minutes later with more than $3,500 in stolen goods, including epoxy, house wrap, vinyl flooring, primer sealer and garbage bags.
Later that day, authorities said, Marmolejo drove out to the Home Depot store in Deer Park, Suffolk County and filled his cart with $2,500 in merchandise, and avoided paying for it. The stolen items included recessed lighting, a Moen faucet, ceiling medallion and colored light bulbs.
According to prosecutors, Marmolejo managed to avoid Home Depot cashiers and security personnel with the help of Diaz, who allegedly distracted workers while Marmolejo walked out with the merchandise.
The case against Diaz is pending, Brown said.
