The Martin County Sheriff's Office announced arrests in a retail-theft ring dubbed Operation Hammer Time, involving a series of burglaries at hardware stores across Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties from December 2025 to April 2026. Major Ruben Romero said Johnny Batista, 19, Roberto Hernandez-Castro, 39, and Roberto Aldana-Ferrera, 31, were all involved in the operation. At least 40 stores across 13 counties were burglarized, with stolen goods taken back to Miami-Dade County, where the suspects lived, to be sold. Roughly $500,000 worth of property was stolen, in addition to damage to stores.
Hardware stores in Stuart, Lake Worth, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce and Jupiter were targeted, as were stores in Broward County. According to an MCSO affidavit, 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. Investigators say Batista is connected to the first known theft at Sewell Hardware in Stuart in December 2025.
Aldana-Ferrera is in custody in Georgia, Batista was arrested in February for a vehicle theft and is in Martin County Jail, and Hernandez-Castro has a warrant out for his arrest. A fourth suspect, Maikell Fleitas, is deceased. Romero said the thefts impact the entire community through increased costs. 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. Investigators say there are burglaries that happened before December, and they are still looking for one other suspect. The suspects face charges of racketeering, burglary over $1000 in damage while masked, burglary of an occupied structure and burglary of an unoccupied structure.