Teen arrested and charged with stealing pallets from Cape Coral Publix to resell to local farmers

An Immokalee teenager was arrested after being accused of stealing pallets from Publix in Cape Coral to sell to local farmers.

On Tuesday, May 14, officers said they walked around the back of a Publix while on patrol before observing two men loading pallets of wood onto a trailer connected to a white pickup truck.

Officers say the two men spotted them and immediately stopped loading pallets, got into their truck and began to leave.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on the truck because it did not have a license plate. The driver was identified as Nathan Avalos, 19, who said he lost the trailer tag.

Avalos said he was “fixing pallets.” The officers asked him if they were his, to which he replied “yes”.

According to reports, Avalos eventually told police that the pallets were not his. Instead, he was selling them without Publix's permission.

The passenger is believed to be a minor and has been accused of loitering and prowling.

Reports indicate that 34 pallets were stolen in total. The value of each is estimated between $25 and $80.

Further investigations revealed that Avalos was from Immokalee. Avalos said he sells the pallets to Immokalee farmers for $2.50 to $3.

“They were going to Immokalee to sell the pallets for two or three dollars and, in total, 34 pallets ended up being the grand theft charges,” said Mercedes Simonds, a Cape Coral police spokeswoman.

Avalos and the passenger admitted that this was not the first time they had stolen pallets.

Reports indicate they stole pallets from a Walmart in Fort Myers earlier in May.

Avalos was charged with one count of loitering and prowling, one count of grand theft and one count of dealing in stolen property.