DPS seeks help ID’ing suspects in burglary, theft incidents

Two individuals didn’t take the day off last Labor Day after stealing a heavy equipment truck battery and truck tires in two separate incidents last Sunday, Sept. 1.

The Department of Public Safety is requesting the community’s help in identifying the two suspects.

DPS assistant chief of police and acting public information officer Simon T. Manacop said the first incident occurred at the WIC Administrative Office in Upper Navy Hill at approximately 6:15am.

A security officer at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., while monitoring surveillance footage, observed two individuals removing tires from a white Ford pickup truck parked at the office.

Responding officers arrived within minutes to find the vehicle stripped of all four tires. A subsequent search led to the recovery of two tires in a nearby jungle area. The suspects are described as a female dressed in black—a shirt, pants, and hat—and a male suspect wearing only camouflage shorts, with no shirt.

Later that morning, at around 10:49am, a second incident was reported at the CTSI storage facility along Industrial Drive in Puerto Rico. Employees arriving at work discovered tools scattered inside the facility and noticed that three heavy equipment truck batteries had been removed from the premises and placed in a break area outside. Surveillance footage captured a lone female suspect, dressed identically to the female in the WIC office incident, entering the facility through the main gate at 5:53am. The suspect left seven minutes later with a stolen Napa brand heavy equipment truck battery.

DPS believes the same individuals are responsible for both incidents and urges anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be provided to the DPS Criminal Investigation Bureau at (670) 664-9042, DPS headquarters at (670) 664-9001, or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at (670) 234-7272 for anonymous tips. The public is also encouraged to call 911 to report any crime or emergency.