A man who allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment from an FBI van may not have been aware of the value of that equipment, because according to his charging documents, he sold a $1,500 bulletproof vest from the loot for a $20 bag of meth.

The Bay Area News Group is reporting today on a man accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of equipment from an FBI van. The alleged theft occurred at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, August 7. According to the News Group, suspect Gregory Acosta Alvarez is accused of stealing “dozens of flashbangs, a gas gun, surveillance equipment and a ballistic vest.”

Acosta Alvarez was reportedly arrested the same day. Most of the equipment was seized from his nearby hotel room, but the bulletproof vest and gas pistol were not found.

The reason for this is because, according to the News Group, “Acosta Alvarez allegedly claimed he sold it to someone for $20 worth of methamphetamine.” The ballistic vest alone is worth an estimated $1,500.

The alleged theft occurred on August 7 in SoMa, at 442 Natoma Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets. FBI Special Agent Welton Pollard had parked the vehicle there, and surveillance video allegedly shows Acosta Alvarez breaking into the van, stealing items and riding away on his bicycle.

FBI agents were able to locate Acosta Alvarez’s hotel room, about a quarter mile from the scene of the truck theft. They found a defibrillator stolen from the truck (a defibrillator!), along with the grenades and some surveillance equipment. But the bulletproof vest and gas gun had allegedly already been sold for meth.

Acosta Alvarez is charged in federal court with theft of government property, but is being held without bail in the San Francisco County Jail, where he faces burglary, drug possession, grand theft and trespassing charges. Some of those charges relate to the theft of the FBI truck, and others relate to a previous arrest in 2023. His first court date has not yet been set.

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Image: PROVO, UTAH – AUGUST 9: FBI agents unload equipment while searching the home of Craig Robertson, who was shot and killed by the FBI during a raid this morning on August 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. The FBI was investigating alleged threats made by Robertson against President Biden, who is visiting Salt Lake City today and tomorrow. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)