WEB EXCLUSIVE: Three nabbed in Stookey Park burglary

Martin Puga (left) and Randy Lopez (right) have been accused along with a third juvenile suspect of burglarizing Stookey Park Monday evening. Also seen are the items that were taken in the burglary. (SBPD photos)

By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com 

A caller alerted San Benito police on Monday night to a suspicious group of males who had been seen running through a baseball field near San Benito Memorial Park, also known as Stookey Park.

On November 26, at 10:34 p.m., police responded to Stookey Park, located at the intersection of Stookey and East Stenger. A concerned citizen informed officers that a group of subjects had been seen running through the baseball fields carrying equipment. Officers proceeded to search the area and discovered a group of male subjects hiding in the brush of an empty field, adjacent to the park.

Once the subjects noticed police, they ran inside the park where they were detained. The suspects have been identified as 20-year-old Randy Lopez, 21-year-old Martin Puga and a 14-year-old male, all from San Benito.

Officers discovered stolen property allegedly in the suspects’ possession, such as baseball gear, electronic equipment, snacks and other extraneous items which had allegedly been stolen from a convenience area located inside the park.

“All three were in possession of a duffle bag that contained baseball gear, knick knacks and things they managed to get from the concession stand,” said Detective Rogelio Banda, Jr. of the San Benito Police Department.

The subjects were then placed under arrest for burglary of a building and criminal trespassing. Lopez and Puga were transported to city jail, and the juvenile was taken to the Darrell Hester Juvenile Detention Center in San Benito.

Lopez and Puga were arraigned by Municipal Judge David Garza, who set their bonds totaling $30,000 each. They were transported to Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center late Tuesday afternoon. The youth remains in the detention center, according to Banda.