LEICESTER — On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at about 3:17 p.m., Leicester Police Officer Matthew Fenuccio responded to the Walmart Supercenter at 20 Soojian Drive following a report that man stole approximately $400.00 worth of merchandise from the store.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Matthew Fenuccio and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Sergeant Travis McCauley and Officer Nicholas Wilson also responded to the scene.
“The suspect was described as follows: male wearing all black with a hooded sweatshirt with a black backpack,” Officer Fenuccio said. “This male left the store past all points of sale failing to pay and was last seen walking towards the bus stop.”
Officer Fenuccio said that when he arrived at 20 Soojian Drive, he went to the bus stop nearby and couldn’t find anyone matching the suspect’s description.
“I began checking the perimeter of the parking lot, as I was, I requested dispatch to contact the AP (Asset Protection) office to gather more information,” Officer Fenuccio said. “In particular, to see if they still had eyes on the male that they identified.”
Officer Fenuccio said that as he was checking Walmart’s parking lot for the suspect, Officer Wilson advised him that he spoke with an asset protection employee who said that the suspect left the store on foot and was accompanied by another male party.
“This second male was described as wearing a grey sweatshirt,” Officer Fenuccio said. “Earlier, just before I arrived to Walmart, Sergeant McCauley and I noticed a male leaving the property walking down Main Street wearing a grey sweatshirt.”
Officer Fenuccio said Sergeant McCauley and Officer Wilson left the Walmart property and located the second suspect, who was wearing a gray sweatshirt, in front of 1643 Main Street. The man was later identified as 37-year-old Jose Garcia-Alicea, who court documents indicate is homeless.
“I went over to their location and spoke to Jose,” Officer Fenuccio said. “Jose stated that the other male (one wearing a black sweatshirt) went into the woods.”
Officer Fenuccio said he placed Garcia-Alicea in handcuffs and advised him that he was not under arrest, but being detained.
“Due to Jose attempting to leave the property, stating he saw the other male (black sweatshirt) going into the woods, and the asset protection employees stating that Jose was with the other male involved, he was kept detained,” Officer Fenuccio explained.
Officer Fenuccio said that as he was preparing to search the surrounding area for the other suspect, he asked dispatch to contact Walmart’s asset protection office.
“I wanted to know if the AP [asset protection] employee could review surveillance footage to see where the unidentified male left the property (to potentially use my K9 for a track if need be),” Officer Fenuccio said. “Minutes later, dispatch advised that the AP employee had eyes on the second male and he was currently on the WRTA bus. I returned to the Walmart property to intercept the bus.”
Officer Fenuccio said a Massachusetts State Police trooper who was assisting at the scene accompanied him to the bus. The trooper told Officer Fenuccio that an asset protection employee had given him a photograph of the suspect.
“I entered the bus with the trooper,” Officer Fenuccio said. “I noticed a male wearing an all-black sweatshirt hunched over in a seat behind another patron. I asked the trooper, ‘Do you see anyone who matches the picture you were given?’ He identified the male I noticed hunched over.”
Officer Fenuccio approached the man and told him to stand up.
“In front of him on the floor were multiple boxes (merchandise) from what appeared to be from Walmart,” Officer Fenuccio said. “Due to the bus being at Walmart and the merchandise not being in a bag from Walmart, it would appear he left the property without going through points of sale. Also, this male matched the original description given to police by dispatch (all black hoodie with the hood up), black backpack next to him on the seat. This male was later identified as Mr. Pedro Murillo-Ortega.”
According to police, Pedro Juan Murillo Ortega, 30, is a resident of Worcester, MA.
“Both Pedro and Jose were transported back to the asset protection office by Sergeant McCauley and Officer Wilson,” Officer Fenuccio said.
Officer Fenuccio said that once they were inside the asset protection office, he asked both men for their names. Before searching Murillo Ortega’s backpack, Officer Fenuccio asked if it contained any stolen merchandise, and Murillo Ortega nodded yes.
Officer Fenuccio said he then read Murillo Ortega and Garcia-Alicea their Miranda rights.
As the asset protection employees completed their administrative tasks, Officer Fenuccio said they informed him that Murillo Ortega was suspected in another shoplifting incident at the Leicester Walmart on June 20, 2026, at approximately 5:00 p.m.
“Just after being alerted to this, another Walmart employee came to the office holding more merchandise (pop up tents),” Officer Fenuccio said. “The AP [asset protection] employee stated that the tents were left behind when the males were confronted by AP staff and they began to run away.”
Officer Fenuccio then searched Murillo Ortega’s black backpack and located about a dozen items stolen from Walmart.
“In addition, Pedro stated the backpack itself was stolen from another Walmart at a different time,” Officer Fenuccio said.
Officer Fenuccio said he then asked Murillo Ortega and Garcia-Alicea if they wanted to speak with him about what had transpired that day.
“Pedro stated, ‘We just stole,’” Officer Fenuccio said. Adding, “Pedro elaborated that he was homeless and that he and Jose steal to support their drug habits.”
Officer Fenuccio then asked Murillo Ortega and Garcia-Alicea if they had any previous criminal charges in Massachusetts, and they both said they did not.
A subsequent records check conducted by Officer Fenuccio showed that Garcia-Alicea had previously faced 32 criminal charges in Massachusetts, while Murillo Ortega had faced 23.
“I decided to place them both in formal custody and prepare transport back to Leicester Police Department for processing,” Officer Fenuccio said, adding that both men were also trespassed from all Walmart stores for two years.
Officer Fenuccio said that before leaving, he showed Murillo Ortega an image from Walmart’s June 20, 2026, shoplifting investigation and asked if he was the man depicted. “Yeah, that was me,” Murillo Ortega replied.
“The total dollar amount for the goods stolen on the June 20, 2026, date was valued at $409.44,” Officer Fenuccio said. “The total dollar amount of items stolen by Pedro and Jose today was $513.78.”
Murillo Ortega and Garcia-Alicea were then transported to the Leicester Police Department where they were booked without incident.
“Bail was assigned by the bail clerk at ‘personal recognizance,’” Officer Fenuccio said. “They were subsequently released from custody at approximately 5:15 p.m.”
Pedro J. Murillo Ortega, 30, of Worcester, was charged with the following:
- Larceny under $1200 by Single Scheme (two counts)
Jose Garcia-Alicea, 37, homeless, was charged with the following:
- Larceny under $1200 by Single Scheme
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in July, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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