HOUSTON — Three people are in custody and charged with breaking into Houston Astros star Jose Altuve's home on Opening Day and stealing high-end jewelry, according to the Houston Police Department.
The three men got away with about $1M worth of jewelry, including several watches, according to court documents.
One of them, Patrick Bernard Maxey, 27, appeared in court on Friday morning on a burglary charge.
HPD identified his alleged partners in crime as Jordan Tarnellia, 25, and William Jones, Jr, 28.
According to court documents, the burglars moved a potted plant on Altuve's back porch and got in through a window of the Hedwig Village home around 8:28 p.m. that night.
They left about 10 minutes later with gold jewelry and 13 expensive watches, including Rolex, Piguet, Patek Phillipe and Richard Mille, according to court documents. One of them was worth $420,000.
The second baseman was at the ballpark for the Astros' home opener that night and forgot to set his alarm.
"Your home is the most protected piece of property, we take that very seriously," Assistant DA Napolean Stuart said. "That’s an invasion of your privacy. That is where your kids are, where you are most comfortable, where you take a shower."
In court Friday, prosecutors said cell phone data puts Maxey at Altuve's home at the time of the burglary.
They said there's surveillance video of the suspects meeting up at a business before driving to Altuve's home. There's also surveillance video from Altuve's neighbors that helped link the vehicle used by the burglars to Tarniella's mother, according to court records.
Tarniella was arrested on April 13 and police say he confessed that he was the getaway driver. He picked William Jones out of a photo lineup as one of the suspects he dropped off near Altuve's home and picked up a short time later. Tarniella said they promised to pay him but he never got any money.
According to court records, Maxey has previous convictions for burglary including an incident in Harris County on Aug. 19, 2014, and another in Brazoria County on Aug. 12, 2016.
His bond was set at $200,000.
"It's very early in this case. We do not want to rush to judgment," Patrick's attorney said after the hearing. "We want to let the judicial process play out. We trust and believe in the Constitution."
Jasmyn Hall was also arrested on April 13 and charged with evading because police say she was with one of the suspects and tried to get away.