A Florida man was arrested for pulling the most COVID-19-esque crime imaginable: the toilet paper theft.
Angel Esteban Hernandezcinto, 31, was arrested in the Sunshine State in the early morning hours of Thursday for allegedly stealing 66 rolls of toilet paper from a hotel amid a nationwide shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Investigators said that it happened at the Marriott Hotel in Orlando.
A security guard for the hotel on World Center Drive was on regular patrols when he reportedly noticed Hernandezcinto at 1:30 a.m., pushing a trash can and a bag inside his van. The man opened the rear of the van and took a trash bag from the trash can and put it in his van. The security guard found it suspicious and peeked through the car window and saw the bag was full of unused toilet paper rolls that belonged to the hotel. The Marriott Hotel called the police.
Angel admitted to stealing 66 rolls of toilet paper from the hotel which were worth around $0.99 each. He has apologized for the incident but explained that he intended to take the toilet paper to help an unemployed lady. When police first asked for his name, Angel gave the false name of “Andres Hernandez,” later telling the officer he lied because he was scared.
Hernandezcinto was charged with theft from a public establishment, a third-degree felony. He was handcuffed and taken to the Orange County Jail and released later the same morning on a $2,500 bond.