Through what Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams described as a painstaking and exhaustive investigation, authorities have pieced together the events surrounding Petrino\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793046130_41_Michael-Patrino-Jr-.jpg\")
Michael Petrino Jr. was kidnapped in Reading on March 25 and hasn\u2019t been seen since, according to city police.<\/p>\n
Only one piece of the puzzle remains missing: Petrino\u2019s body.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an extremely lengthy, thorough investigation,\u201d Adams said during a news conference Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Berks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/REG-L-AdamsPressConference1790.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch, if not all, of this investigation is corroborated by cellular telephone evidence, video evidence and license plate reader evidence,\u201d Adams said. \u201cI can\u2019t say enough about the great work and the time and effort that this department has put into holding those accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams said investigators remain committed to bringing closure to Petrino\u2019s family by locating his remains.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there\u2019s a ton of land there, so there\u2019s a lot to cover, but we have conducted exhaustive searches in that area on more than one occasion,\u201d Adams said, noting that Reading police coordinated search efforts with the Middle Creek Search and Rescue Team, the FBI and other agencies.<\/p>\n
Last known to see Petrino alive<\/p>\n
Two men arrested Thursday are believed to be the last people known to have seen Petrino alive, Adams said Friday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Their arrests brought the total number of defendants charged in Petrino\u2019s March abduction to eight.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Caicedo, Nein and Brockington are charged with second- and third-degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses. All three remain jailed without bail.<\/p>\n
Frazier, who is being charged as an adult, faces counts of kidnapping, simple assault and conspiracy and is being held on $500,000 bail.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Three groups, one alleged plan<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said the eight defendants operated in three distinct groups.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Petrino) did not suspect that there was anything awry,\u201d Prusser said. \u201cAgainst Petrino\u2019s knowledge, they were coordinating with Group 2 as to their location.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Prutzman characterized the teens\u2019 role as delivering Petrino to his abductors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose three knew they were going to deliver him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
How the kidnapping unfolded<\/p>\n
According to investigators:<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Authorities allege one of the juveniles agreed to help deliver Petrino in exchange for a \u201cbounty\u201d that included a couple of pounds of marijuana, about 100 marijuana vape cartridges and roughly $3,000.<\/p>\n
Surveillance footage showed Petrino\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Santiago sent a message indicating the Jeep had arrived. Shortly afterward, a tan Chevrolet entered the alley and parked bumper-to-bumper with Petrino\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n
Petrino was assaulted, forcibly removed from the Jeep, placed in the Chevrolet and driven to the Birdsboro Preserve.<\/p>\n
The three juveniles left the area to abandon the Jeep and destroy Petrino\u2019s cellphone.<\/p>\n
Evidence shows Caicedo, Nein and Brockington traveled to the Birdsboro Preserve, where they met Foxx and Vaux, who arrived in a Hyundai SUV.<\/p>\n
Vaux honked his horn to get the group\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s hands and feet with duct tape. The witness refused.<\/p>\n
Vaux then duct-taped Petrino\u2019s hands and feet and placed tape over Petrino\u2019s mouth before ordering him out of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Because his feet were bound, Petrino was forced to hop toward Vaux\u2019s SUV. Prosecutors allege Vaux used the shotgun to guide Petrino toward the vehicle before ordering him into the rear passenger compartment.<\/p>\n
Foxx remained seated in the front passenger seat, while Vaux got behind the wheel and drove away.<\/p>\n
Caicedo attempted to follow the Hyundai in the car but quickly lost sight of it because of Vaux\u2019s speed, according to the witness.<\/p>\n
Witness 1 later told investigators that he never received the promised drugs and cash during the initial encounter at the preserve.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s residence.<\/p>\n
The witness told investigators that Vaux reassured him not to worry because \u201cthe problem\u2019s taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to investigators, Vaux also said: \u201cI can still smell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Witness 1 later retrieved the drugs and cash, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
To help<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crime Alert Berks County\u2019s anonymous tip line at 1-(877) 373-9913. Crime Alert offers cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through information gathered from cellphones, license plate readers and surveillance cameras, Reading police investigators believe they were able…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,7324,202,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-314777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-birdsboro","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}