A group of burglars broke into Houston Astros’ star Jose Altuve’s home on Opening Day and made off with $1 million worth of jewelry and watches, it was revealed Friday.
The suspects, three men and a woman, have been arrested and charged over the March 30 break-in at Altuve’s residence, Houston police said on Twitter.
The second baseman was out with a thumb injury at the time of the burglary, but was at the Astros’ Minute Maid Park for the first game of the season against the Chicago White Sox.
Before Altuve left for the game he forgot to set his house alarm, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Houston Chronicle.
The game kicked off around 6:14 p.m. and police said that around 8:30 p.m., at least two men scaled Altuve’s fence and used a potted plant to get through a window at his Hedwig Village home.
The two-time World Series champion returned to his house around 9:30 p.m. and noticed that the plant had been misplaced, according to the affidavit.
He later found that more than a half dozen watches — valued at $420,000 — and a number of gold pieces of jewelry had been snatched from his bedroom. He lost either 7 or 13 watches, according to separate charging documents, The Chronicle reported.
Surveillance video of the break-in showed the quick-working thieves were in and out of Altuve’s home in just 10 minutes.
Investigators are still working to determine whether Altuve’s home was singled out or if other homes in the area were also targeted, the district attorney’s office told The Chronicle.
Patrick Maxey, 27, Jordan Tarniella, 25, and William Jones, 28, were booked on the felony charge of burglary of a habitation over the break-in, court records show.
Police identified them after tracking down a silver Hyundai Elantra that was seen in the area at the time. The car had a loan-mandated tracker and was determined to belong to Tarniella’s mother.
The vehicle was found at a smoke shop in Sunnyside — about 20 miles away from Altuve’s home. The three male suspects met there about an hour before the break-in.
Tarniella identified himself to police on April 13 as one of the getaway drivers.
“He was promised money for participating in the burglary, but he was never paid,” the investigators wrote in the search warrant.
Maxey was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court on Friday, according to The Chronicle. He had been in custody since mid-April on a parole hold. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2016 after he was convicted of burglary.
His attorney, Edward Jointer, told ABC News that his client “maintains that he is not guilty.”
Jones was also charged with evading arrest after he jumped out of a car and fled on foot when Houston police attempted to apprehend him on April 13.
He led police on a vehicle chase and was at one point picked up by his girlfriend, 20-year-old Jasmyn Hall — the fourth person arrested in connection with the burglary case. When she hit a dead end, Jones ran away, according to charging documents.
A police K-9 tried to track him down, but instead found a wristwatch believed to be among those snatched from Altuve’s home. He was taken into custody two days later, The Chronicle reported.
Hall told authorities that she drove Jones to the Sunnyside meetup before the burglary and picked him up later. She has since posted bond.
Jones, Tarniella and Maxey are being held in Harris County Jail. Maxey’s bond has been set at $200,000 due to his criminal history.
