State police at Skippack allege a Philadelphia man is a serial burglar who is responsible for hitting a Skippack Township steel company and numerous gas stations in Bucks and Montgomery counties since 2020, including an Exxon in Hatfield Township and a Sona gas station in Worcester Township.
Brian Hunter Aguado, 48, of the 500 block of West Ritner Street, has been charged by police in two separate court cases, filed Jan. 22 by police, in which he allegedly stole not only cash in both cases, but also items like lighters and a Keurig coffeemaker.
In the first filing, Aguado is charged with felony burglary, misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief-damage property, theft by unlawful taking, and criminal trespassing, in connection with a burglary on Aug. 27, 2020 at Hoover Steel at 4841 Garges Road in Skippack Township, authorities allege in a complaint.
Police said Aguado broke in and stole between $600 and $800 cash, a Keurig coffeemaker, and a Brother-brand Multi-Function Center Deskjet printer.
In the second case, Aguado is charged with felony burglary and criminal trespassing, as well as misdemeanor charges of theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief-damaging property, and possessing an instrument of crime, in connection with the burglary of Sona Gas at 2005 Valley Forge Road in Worcester on Feb. 27, 2022, according to the affidavit.
Authorities allege Aguado burglarized the gas station, stealing $150 cash in $100 in lighters.
Incident One
On Aug. 27, 2020, state police were called to Hoover Steel Inc., where an aluminum-frame glass door was pried open that accessed a warehouse/office building, police said. The cash register was stolen, multiple filing cabinets were opened and rummaged through, and a 16-inch by 18-inch safe full of paperwork was stolen, police said.
The Keurig was also missing from the lunchroom.
Later, police found the stolen cash register smashed on the ground, the cash gone, and packaging left behind from an unwrapped Deskjet printer, according to the complaint.
Police said the business was unoccupied that evening from 1:03 a.m. to 7:07 a.m.
Investigators received a search warrant on Dec. 18, 2021 for Google to provide information on accounts that were on Hoover Steel property in the burglary timeframe, according to the affidavit.
Police said they received one hit on a Google account in the area during the time window when the burglary occurred – Aguado, complete with his phone number too.
Police said a check on the defendant found he was the only Brian Aguado in the state, with an address of the 600 block of South Main Street in Telford Borough, which was 9.5 miles away from the scene of the crime.
Investigators found out that Aguado was arrested by Souderton Police on June 20, 2020 at 14 Diamond St., police said, and worked for a Souderton conveyor business at the time. Eventually, authorities found there was no relationship between Hoover Steel and the conveyor company, Conveyor Handling Co., per the affidavit.
Conveyor Handling Co., police said, confirmed Aguado was fired after 11 months of employment because he was caught with women in his work truck during work hours. After he was fired, Aguado allegedly began sleeping in the conference room at the conveyor business. Police said he used a duplicate key to gain access.
On Feb. 21, 2021, Hoover Steel contacted police because an odd package was delivered to them – its contents were the paperwork from the stolen safe, police said. USPS receipts showed the package was mailed from the Frankford Post Office in Philadelphia on Feb. 23, 2021, according to the complaint.
Police said a Visa card issued by BMT Bank was used to pay for postage at the post office. The card was traced to a woman, Colleen Carey, of the 200 block of Watkins Street, Philadelphia, who admitted that, while she was doing volunteer work at Philabundance, a man named Hunter pulled up in a white Mercedes sedan and paid her $20 to go into the post office and mail the package, according to the affidavit.
Carey, who authorities allege is a former flame of Aguado, said she pocketed the cash and used her card, but she did not know Hunter’s phone number or his return address, police said.
Authorities conducted a Facebook search on Aguado and found his profile, which allegedly had Conveyor Handling Co. as a prior employer and pictures of a white Mercedes sedan. They also discovered Aguado’s middle name: Hunter.
Next, authorities got a search warrant for Aguado’s phone records for the week of the 2020 burglary and the days leading up to the package being mailed in Philadelphia, according to the complaint. T-Mobile records showed Aguado was on the 4300 block of Orchard Street in Philadelphia from 9:29 a.m. to 10:17 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2021, police said. The package was mailed at 10:22 a.m. from the post office, which was one-tenth of a mile from Aguado’s location, police said.
Additional phone records showed three calls and 14 text messages to Carey, police said. Carey’s phone records, police said, showed she contacted Aguado 20 minutes after the package was mailed.
Aguado was interviewed by investigators on July 23, 2024 at the Skippack barracks. When asked why his phone was on the property the same time as the burglary, Aguado allegedly told police his cousin “and an unsavory character he did not know” came to visit him, and his cousin needed money and did not have a cell phone.
Aguado said his cousin asked if he knew a “quiet place” and he told his cousin about Hoover Steel, per the complaint. Aguado said his cousin came back late in the night with “all kinds of deeds he was going to throw away,” police allege. Instead, Aguado allegedly took the deeds and family history and mailed the documents back to them.
“Aguado related he let his cousin use his phone so his cousin could use it for directions because it’s far from Philly and he does not know how to get up to the area,” police allege in the complaint. “Aguado related his cousin overdosed and died a year after the burglary.”
Incident Two
On Feb. 27, 2022, at 8:20 p.m., state police were dispatched to a burglary alarm at Sona Gas, and upon arrival, found forced entry to the front door, police said. Later, the cash register would be found forced open too and missing $150, police said. All in all, Aguado allegedly caused $2,477 in damage.
Two Bic lighter displays were also stolen from the counter, valued at $100, police said. The next day, the owner of Sona turned over a USB drive with video surveillance of the incident, per the complaint.
Surveillance video allegedly shows a silver 20001 Mercedes ML430 SUV arrive on the property at 9:55 p.m. from westbound Route 73/Skippack Pike. The headlights go off as the driver, alleged to be Aguado, turns into the parking lot. Police said Aguado sits in the car, facing Skippack Pike, for about a minute, before backing up to the curb next to the building, facing Route 363/Valley Forge Road.
At 10 p.m., two individuals exit the SUV and pry open the front door, entering at 10:01 p.m., police said. Both enter the gas station and proceed to the cash register, removing cash and items from the counter, police said.
Then, both individuals exit the business at 10:02 p.m., return to the Mercedes SUV and leave west on Skippack Pike, police said.
One suspect was a male wearing a blue and red beanie labeled “Hoover Steel,” blue and black gloves, and holding a yellow crowbar, police said. This suspect also had an anarchy tattoo on the back of his neck and a tattoo behind his right ear, police said.
The second suspect was a male with a black ski mask covering his mouth and head, black-rimmed glasses, wearing a black jacket, pants, black gloves and shoes, carrying a long-handled sledgehammer, police said.
Connection to Other Burglaries
State police at Dublin said a similar burglary occurred on Feb 26, 2022 before 5 a.m. at the Exxon Gas Uni Mart at 7532 Easton Road in Tinicum Township, Bucks County. In this burglary, forced entry was made via prying open the front door, with cash removed from the register, police said.
A suspect caught on surveillance video showed a male with an Anarchy symbol tattoo on the back of his neck, police said. The vehicle used in the crime, police said, was a silver Mercedes SUV. Using a license plate reader, investigators traced the SUV to Aguado, according to the affidavit.
Then, Hatfield Police contacted investigators to report a commercial burglary on Feb. 28, 2022 at 4:05 a.m. at Exxon Uni-Mart, 1419 Welsh Road, police said. In that burglary, exterior doors were forced open with a large yellow crowbar, police said.
Two male suspects then stole cash from registers, stole numerous packs of cigarettes, and a full Pennsylvania Lottery display tower with unpurchased scratch off lottery tickets, police said.
A silver Mercedes SUV was caught on surveillance at the scene, police said.
Hatfield detectives eventually located the Mercedes in question outside a residence in Upper Moreland Township, where Aguado, with an Anarchy neck tattoo, allegedly occupying the residence and using the SUV.
Detectives executed a search warrant on the home and the Mercedes. The following items were allegedly recovered as evidence: A blue and red beanie with “Hoover Steel” stitched on it, as seen in the Sona gas burglary; blue and black Kobalt-brand gloves and all-black gloves, both seen in the Sona gas burglary; a 42-inch yellow DeWalt crowbar; a large sledgehammer with black tape at the end, which match items in surveillance footage; and a green bag, which was seen in the Sona burglary.
Upon processing Aguado following his arrest, authorities made note of Aguado’s identifying marks – an Anarchy tattoo on the back of his neck and a tattoo behind his right ear, police said.
Aguado is free on $1,000 unsecured bail in both arrests, set at arraignment last week by Magisterial District Judge Adam T. Katzman, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 at 11:45 a.m. for both cases.
Aguado has an extensive criminal history, dating back to 1997, with numerous convictions for retail theft, aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary, according to Pennsylvania criminal records.
He is awaiting a pre-trial hearing in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on a misdemeanor DUI arrest, according to court records.
In October 2022, he was sentenced to 11 months to 23 months in Bucks County jail for felony burglary, per court records.
In 2009, Aguado pleaded guilty to felony robbery and retail theft, simple assault, and receiving stolen property and received 11 months to 23 months in Bucks County jail, according to court records.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
