Local idiot.

Bryan man nabbed in false report case

By MATTHEW WATKINS
Eagle Staff Writer

A Bryan man has been arrested after he reportedly made false police and insurance reports claiming that $25,000 worth of electronics and jewelry had been stolen from his apartment.

Jorge Martinez, 30, faces charges of making a false police report to an officer conducting a criminal investigation.

According to police reports, Martinez listed several large televisions, jewelry, a computer, 340 DVDs, 80 X-box video games, DVD players, a VCR and several other items as stolen.

The report was filed to Bryan police last March and investigators said that they were suspicious from the start. He was taken into custody Saturday.

"I was very alarmed at the exorbitant amount of monetary items listed as stolen in the report," said Detective Jon Agnew, who specializes property and juvenile crime, in a signed affidavit. "I had not investigated any other burglary of a habitation in this high of a price range."

Two days after Martinez filed his original report, police said he called them again, explaining he found more items missing such as a surround sound system and $2,800 worth of sports jerseys. When he arrived at the police station the following day to pick up the police report, he added a 46-inch television worth $2,200 to the list, reports said.

Agnew said that the large amount of money reported stolen from the residence, which is located in an area with mostly low-income housing, was a red flag that the report was fake.

The quantity of valuables taken was another red flag, he said.

"With the amount of items that the defendant stated was stolen, the alleged suspect would have to have a moving truck and several people to help him," Agnew wrote in the affidavit. He added that he interviewed Martinez's neighbors and that no one recalled seeing any suspicious activity.

Agnew reported that he asked Martinez to show receipts for the items, and Martinez told him that he forgot to report that a briefcase that had all of his receipts in it also had been stolen.

According to the reports, Martinez also filed a claim with his renter's insurance. An investigator from the insurance company who shared his findings with police reported that he visited Martinez's house and one of his teenage sons told the investigator that he was unaware of a burglary.

After Agnew requested receipts he began to have trouble contacting Martinez, he said. A warrant was signed for his arrest but he was not located until a traffic stop ten months after the report was originally made.

He was released Saturday on $2,000 bail for the Class A misdemeanor.

• Matthew Watkins' e-mail address is matthew.watkins@theeagle.com.