SAN ANTONIO – A delivery driver for a beer distributing company is accused of stealing dozens of cases of beer, and then paying a co-worker to cover up the crime.
Jose Torrez, 32, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of theft.
An arrest warrant affidavit also named his co-worker, Paul Garza, 27, as a suspect.
The affidavit stated that Torrez worked as a delivery driver for Silver Eagle Distributors, while Garza conducted audits at the end of the day on the amount of beer left over inside the drivers' trucks.
It stated that San Antonio police detectives spoke with the office manager for the company on March 4 about the apparent theft of about $825 worth of beer in January.
Detectives said they interviewed Garza who admitted that he helped Torrez conceal the fact that he had stolen beer from his truck, the affidavit stated.
Garza told police that during an audit on Jan. 25, he counted 38 cases of beer on Torrez's truck but wrote down that he had 72 cases, the affidavit stated.
He also told investigators that he had helped Torrez conceal similar crimes on four or five other occasions, and did not know what Torrez did with the stolen beer, the affidavit stated.
Garza told police Torrez had offered to pay him between $80 and $100 for his help, the affidavit stated.
Although Torrez was taken into custody, it did not appear that Garza had been arrested yet, as of Thursday morning. (Mugshot of Paul Garza below)
