OKEECHOBEE — After some of his police equipment was stolen from his unlocked truck, a Jupiter police officer called the Okeechobee Sheriff’s Department to report the theft. On April 18, Deputy Christopher Tullio was dispatched to the residence in reference to the complaint. The complainant told him he returned from work at approximately 9 a.m. the day before and went to sleep shortly afterward. When he got up to go to work , he went to his truck to get his ballistics vest and realized it was missing. Because the truck was wet, they were unable to gather fingerprints.
Items reported missing were the ballistics vest, level 3 ballistic plates, a radio pouch, glove pouch, taser pouch, handcuffs, Stinger flashlight, radio ear piece and key fobs.
On May 25, Detective Tyler Ott saw a photograph on Instagram by a user later identified as Marcos Antonio Gomez-Hidalgo, age 15, Northwest Fourth Street. In the photo, Gomez-Hildalgo was reportedly wearing a black ski mask with white lettering covering his face and holding a black pistol with an extended mag in his left hand. Also pictured was a black rifle with a scope. In the picture, he was reportedly wearing a ballistic vest with a thin blue line flag patch on the right breast area.
On June 8, Gomez-Hildago was charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied vehicle, resisting arrest without violence and theft of law enforcement equipment.
He was transferred to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.