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Miami man accused of stealing beehives from the American Bee Project

Posted at 8:52 AM, Feb 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-08 08:52:34-05

A Miami man is facing charges after police say he repeatedly stole beehives from a property.

Yoel Torres, 54, was arrested Tuesday on four counts of grand theft, six counts of trespassing and one count of criminal mischief, according to an arrest report.

The report said surveillance cameras caught Torres swiping beehive boxes from the American Bee Project near Northwest 170th Street and Northwest 97th Avenue on multiple occasions dating back to last month.

The footage showed Torres put on a bee suit before removing the boxes and putting them in the bed of his truck.

He also removed the tops of several other boxes which caused the bees to flee, costing their owner about $3,500, the report said.

Police were able to find Torres after the surveillance cameras captured the tag number on his truck, the report said.

Torres told investigators that he saw the boxes on the property and that they "seemed abandoned," the report said. He also claimed he called the company and spoke with a woman who gave him permission to take the hives, according to the report.

Torres was booked into jail and later released on bond. Attorney information wasn't available.

Story from our news partner NBC 6