SPENCER COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Miami man is now behind bars in Kentucky after more than a decade on the run.
Odelmis Hildalgo, 45, is charged with a felony of stealing more than $1.2 million worth of Nikon camera equipment from a Spencer County semi-truck in 2007.
Kentucky State Police say thefts like this are not unheard of. The criminals will follow a semi from a distribution center and then steal the truck once it’s parked at an overnight staging area.
“They generally are non-violent and result in a high pay-off for those engaged in this sort of criminal activity,” said KSP Sgt. Josh Lawson.
Police say Hidalgo stole the semi from Spencer County and drove it to Louisville. He then disguised its trailer, unattached it and then connected it to his own truck and drove it to Miami.
In October, Hidalgo applied for U.S. citizenship in Miami and was living in the country illegally. As part of the application process, he was fingerprinted, and those prints matched the prints taken from the stolen semi in Louisville.
Hidalgo was arrested in Miami and extradited to the Shelby County Detention Center.
“Generally, fingerprints are the only way to track these individuals because of the various names and aliases that can be given,” Lawson said.
Hidalgo also had aliases and often used his last name as his first in order to evade police. Police still do not know his legal name since he has no social security card and is not a citizen.
The $1.2 million of Nikon camera equipment was never found. Hidalgo will appear in court Friday.
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