Deputies: Pair Drove from Miami to Rip Off Palm Harbor Ross Store

A Palm Harbor man served as a getaway driver for a man and woman who traveled from Miami to Palm Harbor to steal merchandise from the Ross store at 33165 U.S. 19, according to authorities.

On May 3 at about 9:15 p.m., Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Alberto Alex Rojas, 56, of Palm Harbor and Jose Castillo, 19, and Gina Cordano, 44, whose hometowns were not provided.

Deputies say the trio stole $1,085 worth of items from the store that evening using a "booster bag." A booster bag is a bag that has been modified to include a special lining, like multiple layers of aluminum foil, that can prevent security panels from detecting items inside the bag. This allows thieves to place multiple items in a booster bag, then walk out of a store without tripping off any alarms, according to a description on Wikipedia.

One suspect filled the "booster bag" with items from the store then went outside where another suspect was waiting and directed the person with the booster bag to the getaway driver. Rojas served as the driver, according to an arrest affidavit.

Deputies say they found $3,898 worth of stolen items in Rojas' vehicle, along with the booster bag, a commercial demagnetizer that is the type used by Ross, and two handmade tools used to remove ant-theft devices. The affidavit did not say where the other items were stolen from.

Rojas, who deputies say also goes by the alias Eddy Marquin Gritter, was charged with felony grand theft. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and later released after posting $2,000 bond. Details about charges filed against the other two suspects were not listed on the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Inmate Booking website. 

• Subscribe to the Palm Harbor Patch newsletter to have local news delivered to your email each day. Sign up here.