FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

District Attorney Announces Charges Filed Against Two Men Allegedly Involved in Multiple Thefts and Burglaries

Allentown, Pennsylvania (December 13, 2019) – District Attorney Jim Martin has announced that charges have been filed against two men who allegedly were involved in multiple burglaries and thefts in a seven-county area from May through August 2019.

Joshua Torres-Ruiz, DOB December 25, 1998, age 20, whose last known address is 713 W. Liberty St., Allentown, is charged with 26 counts each of Burglary and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Burglary; seven counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary; and six additional counts of Criminal Conspiracy. Those charges are all felonies of the second degree.

Mr. Torres-Ruiz is also charged with four counts of both Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition, which are felonies of the third degree. Additionally, he is charged with four counts of both Theft from a Motor Vehicle and Conspiracy to Commit Theft from a Motor Vehicle, which are misdemeanors of the first degree.

Efrain Santiago-Colon, DOB November 29, 1995, age 24, of 227 S. Carlisle St., Allentown, is charged with 19 counts each of Burglary and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Burglary; five counts each of Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary and Criminal Conspiracy; two counts each of Theft by Unlawful Taking and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Theft by Unlawful Taking; and three counts each of Theft from a Motor Vehicle and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Theft from a Motor Vehicle.

As a result of an investigation undertaken by the Pennsylvania State Police, local police agencies, and the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force, it is alleged that an organized gang of individuals committed multiple nighttime burglaries/attempted burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts from motor vehicles in Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Berks, Carbon, and Schuylkill Counties from May through August of this year. District Attorneys of those counties have agreed to consolidate the charges and prosecution in Lehigh County. The investigation is ongoing.

“I want to commend Trooper Michael Everk of the Pennsylvania State Police – Troop M and Det. Chad Wasserman of the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force for their extensive work involving this complex, multi-jurisdictional investigation,” said Martin. “In addition, I thank the analysts at both the Lehigh County Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center and the Officer David M. Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory located on the campus of DeSales University for providing the technical expertise critical to the investigation into the extraordinary number of crimes allegedly perpetrated by these individuals.”

As in every criminal case, the fact that a warrant has been issued or an arrest has been made is merely an accusation; and the defendants, Joshua Torres-Ruiz and Efrain Santiago-Colon, are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.