Third Florida Man Sentenced for String of Recreational Vehicle Thefts Spanning Multiple States

            Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced that a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Yanquiel Lazaro Garcia-Carrera, from West Palm Beach, Florida, to 54 months in prison for his role in a string of recreational vehicle (RV) thefts. During his August 10, 2023, sentencing hearing, the judge also ordered that Garcia-Carrera serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay $70,036 in restitution.

            According to his plea agreement and court records, Garcia-Carrera and others participated in a conspiracy to steal RVs from dealerships at night and transport them back to Florida.  Records indicate that from February 2019 through July 2020, thefts occurred on at least 20 separate occasions in multiple states, including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Houston County, Alabama.

            Two others charged in the conspiracy were 46-year-old Yohannys Riquenes Diaz, also from West Palm Beach, and 37-year-old Taylon Batista-Garcia, from Margate, Florida. In May 2023, a judge sentenced Riquenes-Diaz to 37 months in prison and Batista-Garcia received a sentence of 26 months in prison. The judge also required that both men pay restitution.

            The FBI and the Dothan Police Department investigated this case, with assistance from numerous state and local law enforcement agencies in the affected states. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon W. Bates is prosecuting the case.