Cargo Thieves Sentenced In KY

August 24th, 2010 



United States District Court Judge Karen K. Caldwell sentenced Juan D. Perez-Gonzales, 36 and Mijail Zerquera, 38 both from Louisville, KY to 23 months in prison for conspiracy and unlawful possession of stolen property.

The two men admitted to each driving a tractor attached to a previously stolen trailer loaded with alcohol products. The combined value of both trailers loaded with liquor was approximately $425,000.

On September 19, 2009 Perez-Gonzales, Zerquera and Vladimir Naranjo-Nieto, 36, Efren Rodriguez-Hernandez, 32 and Michael Prieto-Cruz, 28 each of Louisville, stole two trailers loaded with liquor from the L.J. Rogers Trucking Company in Jeffersonville, IN. The men brought the stolen trailer to Louisville and tried to conceal the L.J. Rogers Trucking logos by covering them with white paint. The group also prepared false bills of lading for the stolen liquor, and prepared to transport the stolen liquor to New York state for resale.

Perez-Gonzales and Zerquera admitted that each drove one of the stolen loaded trailers when they were stopped by law enforcement at a truck stop in Mt. Sterling, KY. The trailers with the stolen liquor were identifiable because the white paint applied by the group failed to conceal the L.J. Rogers Trucking Company logos.

Naranjo-Nieto, Rodriguez-Hernandez and Prieto-Cruz have each pled guilty for their roles in the conspiracy, and for aiding and abetting the possession of stolen property by Perez-Gonzales and Zerquera. Each of these men face a maximum potential sentence of 10 years and will be sentenced in December 1, 2010.

Source(s):
US Department of Justicehttp://www.usdoj.gov/usao/kye