MARTIN COUNTY — A stolen Mercedes SUV reported missing in California earlier this year was recovered in Martin County, leading to the arrest of two men after a visit to a local business raised suspicions, authorities said.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office road patrol deputies located the vehicle traveling along Martin Downs Boulevard. The SUV had been reported stolen in January and had since traveled across the country before arriving in South Florida.
Investigators said Kelvin Paulino, 30, of New Hampshire, was driving the vehicle, with 32-year-old Abraham Celestino Valencia Cruz of Massachusetts as a passenger.
According to the pair, they flew into Miami earlier that day to purchase the SUV from an unknown individual. They then drove to Martin County in an attempt to obtain insurance. The situation was flagged as suspicious by the insurance company.
Deputies who had been tracking the stolen vehicle were already outside the business, authorities said. After the two men refused to leave, deputies and detectives entered and took them into custody without incident.
Paulino was charged with grand theft, and Valencia Cruz was charged with trespassing in a conveyance. Both were booked into the Martin County Jail.