A man has been arrested in rural Redland, Fla., accused of stealing $200,000 worth of red meat in the Orlando area; but that’s just one of the charges the Cuban national faces after two separate incidents over the last few months, according to a local news report.
Miami-Dade police charged Lazaro Izquierdo Crespo, 39, of Hialeah, Fla., with a laundry list of more than a dozen crimes, including three counts of grand theft, three counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, two counts of resisting an officer with violence and individual counts of fleeing and eluding, possession of a controlled substance, depriving an officer of means of communication, unauthorized transmission on a police radio, attempted evidence tampering and criminal mischief.
All this stems from two incidents allegedly involving Izquierdo.
In the most recent incident, police responded to a report of a stolen chassis and container filled with beef in Orange County, Fla. Using GPS technology, investigators found the container, then witnessed it being unloaded into a 52-foot trailer and Izquierdo fleeing the scene in a pickup truck after noticing the officers.
Izquierdo hit a Miami-Dade police pickup while trying to flee, and during the chase, police say Izquierdo used a radio frequency jammer to attempt to prevent officers from communicating while in pursuit. Eventually, Izquierdo’s vehicle hit a rut in the road, broke a wheel rim and came to a stop. During the attempted escape, he allegedly threw a black leather bag and belongings into a dirt field — authorities say the bag contained suspected methamphetamines. Izquierdo was taken into custody.
Less than two months prior, authorities say, another cargo theft occurred, and police suspect Izquierdo in that incident as well. Authorities investigating that report say they saw Izquierdo get into a stolen Audi, and when they approached to detain him, he fled, hitting a detective in the right arm and another in the leg. He then crashed into the front gate of the truck yard and eluded capture, causing approximately $4,000 in damage.
Izquierdo was being held on a magistrate hold despite being given a $56,000 bond. This is not Izquierdo’s first arrest, nor his first for theft. He was arrested in March 2022 in Collier County for stealing a tractor-trailer truck worth $80,000, which he crashed on Interstate 75.
