Palmyra family seeks public’s help in finding son, 24, missing since March

Michael Petrino and wife Shanni Petrino last spoke with their son, Mike Petrino Jr., in late March.

Mike Petrino had moved to Reading earlier in the year – he had a girlfriend there and was in a training program for IT networking, said his dad.

He graduated from Palmyra Area High School in 2020, where he played football, baseball, and lacrosse. His father describes him as very personable, someone who’d strike up a conversation with anyone.

“Just a friendly person who would pretty much do anything he could do to help people out,” said Petrino.

And then, Mike Petrino went missing.

His parents said they were contacted and told that people hadn’t spoken with him recently. His car was still parked on the street. Shanni and Michael filed a missing person report.

In June, following a three-month investigation that began with Western Lebanon County Regional Police before being transferred to the City of Reading Police Department, charges were filed against six individuals over the alleged assault and kidnapping of Mike.

According to police, Petrino was lured to the area of North 2nd and Oley streets in Reading during the early morning hours of March 25 by three juvenile males — identified as J.S., 17, J.E., 16, and A.M., 16 — who were traveling in a Jeep Compass Petrino had rented.

Police said a bounty had been placed on Petrino due to ongoing disputes with several individuals in Berks County.

Surveillance footage showed the Jeep entering and parking in an alleyway, followed shortly by a tan Chevrolet sedan that parked bumper-to-bumper with the Jeep. Police said Petrino was assaulted, forcibly removed from the Jeep, placed into the sedan, and driven away.

The three juveniles then abandoned the rented Jeep in the 1200 block of Muhlenberg Street and destroyed Petrino’s phone, according to investigators.

Police believe Petrino was transported to a secluded area by three adults — Gerson Caicedo, 21, Khalil Nein, 20, and Jazmeire Brockington, 19 — who had been communicating with the juveniles through a group chat. The sedan was registered to Caicedo, police said.

Petrino’s whereabouts remain unknown.

“This is a very active, ongoing investigation and we’re looking for the public’s assistance to move the investigation along,” Berks County District Attorney John Adams told WFMZ in June. “Hopefully [soon we’ll] get some answers for the Petrino family as to the whereabouts of their son.”

All three juveniles were charged as adults with kidnapping and conspiracy. J.S. and J.E. also face robbery charges, while A.M. was additionally charged with false imprisonment. All three have been taken into custody.

Caicedo, Brockington, and Nein were each charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and conspiracy. Caicedo and Brockington were already incarcerated at Berks County Prison on unrelated charges. Nein was taken into custody June 17 with assistance from the Berks County Emergency Response Team.

“Our biggest thing is, we just want to know where he is,” said Michael Petrino.

Anyone with information about Mike Petrino’s whereabouts is asked to contact Reading police at 610-655-6116 or Crime Alert Berks County’s anonymous tip line at 1-877-373-9913. Crime Alert offers cash rewards for tips leading to an arrest.