Two undocumented immigrants from Chile were arrested in Ocala after they allegedly burglarized vehicles at two local parks.
At around 12 p.m. on December 28, 2023, two Hispanic male suspects allegedly entered a female victim’s vehicle while it was parked at Coehadjoe Park on NE 35th Street in Ocala. The suspects then stole the victim’s credit cards, according to MCSO.
The victim informed investigators that she saw the two male suspects drive away in a silver Hyundai Santa Fe with a temporary tag attached.
Shortly after the burglary was committed, the victim advised that someone had used her credit card to attempt a $209.61 transaction at the Walmart located on E Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala.
MCSO stated in a media release that a detective obtained security footage of the two suspects inside the Walmart in Ocala, and they were later identified as 32-year-old Ricardo Alejandro Araya Rojas and 29-year-old Bastiane Paiva Arriola.
Two weeks after the incident at Coehadjoe Park, on January 12, Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola allegedly entered a second victim’s vehicle that was parked at Silver Springs State Park in Silver Springs. MCSO stated that both suspects proceeded to steal credit cards from inside the vehicle.
According to the sheriff’s office, Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola then traveled to Best Buy in Ocala, where they allegedly made several large purchases using the second victim’s credit cards.
On January 14, Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola returned to the same Best Buy store in Ocala, and an on-duty manager recognized them. The Ocala Police Department was contacted, and officers soon arrived on scene and detained both suspects, according to MCSO.
The sheriff’s office stated that Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola both “possessed credit cards that did not belong to them.” The second victim was identified as the owner of those credit cards, and she told an OPD officer that her vehicle had been forcibly entered at Silver Springs State Park.
MCSO detectives made contact with Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola and attempted to conduct an interview, but both suspects refused to discuss the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.
Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola were arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where they are currently being held on $52,500 bond. They are both facing the following charges: burglary of an unoccupied conveyance (3 counts), fraud – illegal use of credit cards (5 counts), grand theft (5 counts), petit theft (13 counts), and possession of stolen credit cards (9 counts).
Marion County Jail records show that Araya Rojas and Paiva Arriola are both scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13.