Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Henyer Jose Rivero-Torres, 35, a Venezuelan national, was taken into custody on June 12 on a charge of driving without a valid license. Authorities later added a theft charge after investigators linked him to the alleged theft of $1,250 worth of sunglasses from Bass Pro Shops.
Following Rivero-Torres’s arrest for unlicensed driving, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) detective determined that he matched the suspect sought in a May shoplifting case at Bass Pro Shops.
According to the investigation, the detective had responded on May 15 to a report that around 11 a.m., a man walked around the Sunglass Outfitter’s kiosk inside Bass Pro Shops and removed six pairs of specialty sunglasses. The suspect allegedly went to another part of the store, cut off the security devices, and left without paying. The detective also noted that the same man and a Hispanic woman are believed to have repeatedly targeted the store.
A loss prevention officer gave investigators a license plate number that had reportedly been seen on two different vehicles at Bass Pro Shops: a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Highlander.
The detective found that a University of Florida Police Department officer had stopped a Toyota Highlander bearing that same tag number on April 3 and identified Rivero-Torres as the driver. During that stop, the officer cited him for attaching a tag not assigned to the vehicle and for driving without a valid license. The detective later observed that images from the officer’s body-worn camera appeared to show the same person seen in the Bass Pro Shops theft.
On June 12, the detective learned that ASO had stopped a vehicle displaying the same tag and arrested the driver for driving without a valid license. The detective noted that photos of Rivero-Torres’s shoes taken during that arrest were “clearly the same” as the shoes worn by the suspect in the Bass Pro Shops incident.
Investigators then showed a photo lineup to the Bass Pro Shops loss prevention officer, who identified Rivero-Torres as the person suspected of stealing the sunglasses.
The detective also noted that five anti-theft devices made from steel cables were found in the pocket of the pants that Rivero-Torres tried on after visiting the sunglasses kiosk.
Rivero-Torres has been charged with grand theft and five counts of destruction of loss prevention devices. He has no local criminal history, but he has a federal history from 2024. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $60,000, and Rivero-Torres is being held on a federal detainer.
ASO’s arrest forms do not have a field for citizenship status, and local court records are silent about Rivero-Torres’s citizenship status. He told Court Services that he has been in the area for about two years and is self-employed.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
