Through information gathered from cellphones, license plate readers and surveillance cameras, Reading police investigators believe they were able to determine when and where Michael Petrino Jr. was kidnapped and who was responsible.
They also believe they uncovered the motive: Petrino was involved in the illicit drug trade and had allegedly robbed his marijuana supplier of about 2 pounds of marijuana, according to authorities.
Investigators said technology also helped them conclude that Petrino likely was killed shortly after he was abducted on March 25.
With the arrests of two men last week, authorities believe all eight suspects accused of participating in the kidnapping and killing of the 23-year-old Lebanon County man are now in custody.
Through what Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams described as a painstaking and exhaustive investigation, authorities have pieced together the events surrounding Petrino’s disappearance.
Michael Petrino Jr. was kidnapped in Reading on March 25 and hasn’t been seen since, according to city police.
Only one piece of the puzzle remains missing: Petrino’s body.
“This is an extremely lengthy, thorough investigation,” Adams said during a news conference Monday. “It’s complicated.”
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams holds a press conference on the deaths of Michael Petrino Jr. and Leonardo Mercado-Gomez at the Berks County Services Center on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READINGEAGLE)
Adams said several investigators with the Reading police Criminal Investigations Division worked the case under the supervision of Vice Lt. Eric Driesbach, obtaining numerous search warrants for cellphone records and other digital evidence.
“Much, if not all, of this investigation is corroborated by cellular telephone evidence, video evidence and license plate reader evidence,” Adams said. “I can’t say enough about the great work and the time and effort that this department has put into holding those accountable.”
Adams said investigators remain committed to bringing closure to Petrino’s family by locating his remains.
The last verified sighting of Petrino was in the Birdsboro Preserve, an approximately 1,800-acre conservation area south of Birdsboro that includes an inactive quarry and miles of hiking trails.
“I know there’s a ton of land there, so there’s a lot to cover, but we have conducted exhaustive searches in that area on more than one occasion,” Adams said, noting that Reading police coordinated search efforts with the Middle Creek Search and Rescue Team, the FBI and other agencies.
Last known to see Petrino alive
Two men arrested Thursday are believed to be the last people known to have seen Petrino alive, Adams said Friday.
Reading police and members of the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Josiah M. Vaux of Mohnton and Luke C. Foxx of York Haven in York County.
Vaux, 24, and Foxx, 21, were committed to Berks County Jail without bail following arraignment before District Judge Tonya A. Butler on charges including second-degree murder, kidnapping and related offenses.
Their arrests brought the total number of defendants charged in Petrino’s March abduction to eight.
Four other defendants, Gerson Caicedo, 21, of Leesport; Khalil Nein, 20, of Reading; Jazmeire Brockington, 18, of Reading; and Amir Frazier, 16, of Muhlenberg Township, were held for court on all charges following a preliminary hearing in August.
Caicedo, Nein and Brockington are charged with second- and third-degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses. All three remain jailed without bail.
Frazier, who is being charged as an adult, faces counts of kidnapping, simple assault and conspiracy and is being held on $500,000 bail.
Two additional defendants, Jayden Santiago and Jayden Edwards, both juveniles charged as adults with kidnapping and conspiracy, remain free pending further court proceedings, Adams said.
Three groups, one alleged plan
Prosecutors said the eight defendants operated in three distinct groups.
According to Assistant District Attorney Charles Prutzman, the first group consisted of three teenagers who lured Petrino to northwest Reading knowing he would be abducted upon arrival.
“He (Petrino) did not suspect that there was anything awry,” Prusser said. “Against Petrino’s knowledge, they were coordinating with Group 2 as to their location.”
Authorities allege the second group, consisting of Caicedo, Nein and Brockington, carried out the initial abduction before transferring Petrino to Foxx and Vaux, who made up the third group.
Prutzman characterized the teens’ role as delivering Petrino to his abductors.
“Those three knew they were going to deliver him,” he said.
How the kidnapping unfolded
According to investigators:
Petrino drove with the three teens to the area of North Second and Oley streets during the early morning hours of March 25 in his rented Jeep Compass. The vehicle was later found abandoned in the 1200 block of Muhlenberg Street.
Authorities allege one of the juveniles agreed to help deliver Petrino in exchange for a “bounty” that included a couple of pounds of marijuana, about 100 marijuana vape cartridges and roughly $3,000.
Surveillance footage showed Petrino’s Jeep entering an alley and parking. Santiago was seen exiting the vehicle while using a cellphone. Investigators later determined the teens were communicating through a group chat with Caicedo, Nein and Brockington.
Santiago sent a message indicating the Jeep had arrived. Shortly afterward, a tan Chevrolet entered the alley and parked bumper-to-bumper with Petrino’s vehicle.
Petrino was assaulted, forcibly removed from the Jeep, placed in the Chevrolet and driven to the Birdsboro Preserve.
The three juveniles left the area to abandon the Jeep and destroy Petrino’s cellphone.
Evidence shows Caicedo, Nein and Brockington traveled to the Birdsboro Preserve, where they met Foxx and Vaux, who arrived in a Hyundai SUV.
Vaux honked his horn to get the group’s attention. Caicedo then turned his vehicle around and followed the Hyundai to the end of Hay Creek Road, where the roadway becomes a recreation trail.
Vaux exited the SUV carrying a shotgun while Foxx exited holding a handgun, which prosecutors said he pointed at the occupants of the other vehicle.
Vaux ordered a person identified in court documents as Witness 1, who was in the car with the other group during initial abduction, to bind Petrino’s hands and feet with duct tape. The witness refused.
Vaux then duct-taped Petrino’s hands and feet and placed tape over Petrino’s mouth before ordering him out of the vehicle.
Because his feet were bound, Petrino was forced to hop toward Vaux’s SUV. Prosecutors allege Vaux used the shotgun to guide Petrino toward the vehicle before ordering him into the rear passenger compartment.
Foxx remained seated in the front passenger seat, while Vaux got behind the wheel and drove away.
Caicedo attempted to follow the Hyundai in the car but quickly lost sight of it because of Vaux’s speed, according to the witness.
Witness 1 later told investigators that he never received the promised drugs and cash during the initial encounter at the preserve.
A few weeks later, according to court testimony, Vaux contacted the witness by FaceTime and told him his marijuana, vape cartridges and cash were waiting on the back porch of Foxx’s residence.
The witness told investigators that Vaux reassured him not to worry because “the problem’s taken care of.”
According to investigators, Vaux also said: “I can still smell him.”
Witness 1 later retrieved the drugs and cash, prosecutors said.
To help
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Michael Petrino Jr. or information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Reading Police Department at 610-655-6116.
Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crime Alert Berks County’s anonymous tip line at 1-(877) 373-9913. Crime Alert offers cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest.