Tennessee migrant workers arrested for allegedly looting Hurricane Helene devastation
Tennessee authorities said eight migrant workers were arrested for looting a flood-ravaged area of the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton announced on Facebook Monday that deputies arrested eight men for looting in the flood-ravaged 107 area on Saturday.
Five of the suspects – Albin Nahun Vega-Rapalo, 24, David Bairon Rapalo-Rapalo, 37, Kevin Noe Martinez-Lopez, 25, Marvin Hernandez-Martinez, 43, Dayln Gabriel Guillen Guillen, 37 – were charged with aggravated burglary into occupied structures. Three others face burglary charges: Jesus Leodan Garcia-Peneda, 51, Josue Berardo Ortis-Valdez, 30, and Ersy Leonel Ortis-Valdez, 33.
As of Monday, all were in custody at the Washington County Detention Center, each held on a $20,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said. They were all expected to appear in court later Monday.
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The office added that Washington County deputies continue to patrol the region “during the catastrophic flooding, especially along the flood zone.”
The eight migrant suspects charged with looting in Washington County, Tennessee. (Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office)
A sheriff’s office spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that all eight suspects are migrant workers in the United States legally on work visas.
“That will change as a result of the charges,” the spokeswoman said by phone. After dark, she said that authorities would continue to stop anyone found in flood zones, regardless of their appearance.
“We have been through way too much for this kind of behavior,” the sheriff’s office spokeswoman said.
The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina, after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024 in Lake Lure, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
The five individuals facing aggravated burglary charges were caught looting residential homes, while the other three were caught looting unoccupied homes, structures “that were barely still standing,” she said.
The spokeswoman said radios had just arrived via helicopter a day earlier, as communication in an area that struggled with cell service before the hurricane was severely impacted.
Flood damage at a bridge across Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 30, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. ( Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
The eastern part of Tennessee was hit by heavy rains and flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene. Gov. Bill Lee surveyed flooding damage in eastern Tennessee days ago.
At least 133 deaths in six Southeastern states have been attributed to the storm that inflicted damage from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia.
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The toll steadily rose as emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding. During a briefing Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested as many as 600 people had not been accounted for as of Monday afternoon, saying some might be dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
