The Martin County Sheriff's Office announced arrests in a multi-county retail theft operation dubbed Operation Hammer Time. Major Ruben Romero said Johnny Batista, 19, Roberto Hernandez-Castro, 39, and Roberto Aldana-Ferrera, 31, were involved in a series of burglaries at hardware stores across Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties from December 2025 to April 2026. At least 40 stores across 13 counties were burglarized, including hardware stores in Stuart, Fort Pierce, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, as well as stores in Broward County.
Investigators say the theft ring stole roughly $500,000 worth of property and caused additional damage to stores. The crews would use a sledgehammer or other blunt object to smash the glass and often complete the thefts within minutes, before police arrived or alarms were triggered. The stolen goods were taken back to Miami-Dade County, where the suspects lived, to be sold. Batista is connected to the first known theft at Sewell Hardware in Stuart in December 2025.
Romero explained the wider community impact of these crimes. "There's already inflation that we notice severely in our state, and the more they steal, the more damage they cause, the more expensive things are," he said. "People can't go to work because they can't afford the tools." A fourth suspect, Maikell Fleitas, is deceased.
Batista was arrested in February for a vehicle theft and is in Martin County Jail. Aldana-Ferrera is in custody in Georgia, and Hernandez-Castro has a warrant out for his arrest. Romero said there are burglaries that happened previous to December, and investigators are still looking for one other suspect. The suspects are facing charges of racketeering, burglary over $1,000 in damage while masked, burglary of an occupied structure, and burglary of an unoccupied structure.