Suspects in thefts at Welcome to Rockville identified as illegal Colombian nationals
Six Colombian nationals arrested Friday in a wave of wallet and cellphone thefts at the Welcome to Rockville music festival at Daytona International Speedway remained jailed without bail.
On Sunday, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said it had also made two additional arrests in the case Saturday night and those suspects have been charged with multiple grand theft charges. Deputies found 18 more stolen phones and several credit cards, the sheriff's office said.
The six arrested Friday were in the country illegally, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
Four of the six theft suspects arrested Friday night were identified in court documents. Two women arrested remain unidentified.
Jessica Bovona-Pajar, 33, and Brenda Morros, 41, were each charged with 48 counts of grand theft of $750 but less than $5,000.
Brandon Paez Diaz, 31, was charged with eight counts of grand theft of $750 but less than $5,000 and German Cervantes, 33, was charged with one count of grand theft of $750 but less than $5,000.
The two women, listed as Jane Does, were each charged with eight counts of grand theft of $750 but less than $5,000.
More: Welcome to Rockville 2024 photos
According to a social media post, the sheriff's office stated that on Friday night law enforcement responded to dozens of reports of cellphones and wallets stolen from concertgoers.
Witnesses described the suspects as working in pairs with one reaching into victims' pockets, bags, or purses, stealing the contents, then handing them off to another suspect, the sheriff's office stated.
Deputies, undercover detectives, police and security staff identified and detained the six suspects. Some tried to run but were quickly apprehended, the Facebook post stated.
More than 50 cellphones were recovered from the suspects, who denied stealing them and denied knowing each other, deputies stated.
Detectives determined the majority of the suspects are Colombian nationals who entered the U.S. illegally, lived in Los Angeles, and recently moved to Miami, the sheriff's office stated.
The Department of Homeland Security was also notified of the Colombian nationals' arrests and their immigration status, the news release stated.
Welcome to Rockville Facebook page lights up about the thefts
RockVillians, a Welcome to Rockville fan page, had plenty of posts about the thefts
"So are we not gonna talk about the over 200 phones stolen? Cops arrested multiple people involved and are returning everyone’s phones to them, if you know someone who had their phone stolen tell them to have a friend call the phone! A detective will answer and get your phone back to you!"
"Police officer that we talked to said this is the biggest bust of stolen phones they’ve ever had in Daytona, that they’re sure that there were more people involved than they have arrested so far." ― Natalie Rousa
"Folks, I caught a dude doing this day 1 at Skillet . . . wearing normal clothes, but usually not fest clothes ( no bands or outfits, fest shirts, etc) they move laterally with no reasonable purpose ( not towards the stage or out of the area, just moving along bumping people. They almost always work in a pair or maybe 3 if one's the bag man. They usually work the edge of the pit and they will do a swipe along the outside of your pockets to feel an imprint. If you catch them? Its a simple hand slip in a mosh pit, totally normal." ― LJ Toles
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Welcome to Rockville theft suspects identified as Colombian nationals
