Suspected Thief Arrested After Victim Catches Him Stealing From Vehicle in Boca Raton

Patricio Herrera (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A local man was arrested and charged by Boca Raton police with felony auto burglary and theft after the owner of a vehicle came out to see him allegedly sitting in his car, in the process of stealing money. The incident led the vehicle owner to chase down the suspect before police nabbed him nearby.

The fracas played outside the parking garage at the LA Fitness location at 4950 Technology Way at 11:16 a.m. Monday, according to a copy of court documents obtained by Boca Daily News. A police report stated the suspect, Patricio Herrera, 48, of Delray Beach, was found sitting in a black Toyota that was owned by the vehicle’s rightful owner. Herrera, the victim told cops, was rifling through the car’s glove box, but fled out the front passenger-side door toward the nearby parking garage after being discovered.

The victim, the report states, then chased the suspect northeast toward Yamato Road while Herrera allegedly yelled, “I only stole four dollars” before throwing $4 in cash on the ground near the entrance to the city’s Tri-Rail station. Still on the run, the suspect was photographed by a private security guard as the victim stopped chasing him and called police.

A Boca Raton police captain came across Herrera at the Yamato Road overpass above I-95 a short time later and took him into custody, with witnesses confirming his identity. Herrera, the report stated, would later tell police he “got lost” and ended up near the parking garage where the victim “roughed him up.” The explanation did not comport with the evidence of the case, officers alleged in a probably cause statement filed with the court.

The police report said the owner of the vehicle told officers he left the rear passenger window slightly open, which would have been the only way someone could have gained access to the car.

Herrera was charged with burglary of a conveyance, and felony petit theft due to the fact that Herrera was found to have had two previous convictions for larceny. He was brought to the Palm Beach County Jail where he remains held on $20,000 bond on the two charges.