Florida man steals $4K worth of meat, throws it away after finding girlfriend cooking with another man
02/04/2026 7:00 pm PST
PALM COAST, Fla. (TCN) -- A man allegedly stole thousands of dollars in meat from two supermarkets before throwing most of it away after he found his girlfriend cooking with another man.
WPTV reports the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested Heannys O. Alvarez Reyna, 30. He was charged with felony retail theft and taken into custody on a $5,000 bond.
The thefts reportedly occurred Jan. 5 at two different Publix grocery stores, according to WPTV, and Reyna was connected to them a weeks later through surveillance footage and investigative leads. Reyna allegedly took $1,574.86 worth of beef and lamb from one store and went to a second store 20 minutes later, where he allegedly took $2,084 worth of pork, sirloin, brisket, tenderloin, and personal care items.
Once he was identified, Reyna told detectives that after he allegedly took the meat, he drove to his girlfriend’s house, where he saw that she was cooking with another man, according to WPTV. This prompted him to throw away the meat.
“This wasn’t just a case of someone trying to ‘meat’ their budget. This was a calculated, ‘high-steaks operation’ that left two stores with significant losses,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. “While this suspect’s selection was choice, his method wasn’t kosher.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Reyna is a Cuban national and is also being held on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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