Eight Suspects Arrested In Massive Jewelry Heist

June 16th, 2011

In the city of South Beach, Florida, Law Enforcement announced Wednesday that they have arrested a group of suspects who stole over $6 million in jewelry through the past 2 years. Eight South Florida residents are now charged for their participation in where they burglarized jewelry stores and pawnshops in six different states that included Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Connecticut.

The suspects are professional and expert burglars who would cut holes at the roof of the stores and then proceed to disable alarms and the surveillance systems. Then they would use torches to gain access inside the safe, the authorities said. The suspects were: Jose Betancourt, 43; Yenier Cardentey, 31; Juan Collado-Miranda, 44; Juan Manresa-Leyva, 411; Abelardo Pena-Cardentey, 33; Maykel Roque, 27; Tony Sanchez, 26; and Yaubri Suarez, 30.

The suspects are now in custody and were arrested between May 19^th and May 24^th. According to the FDLE, they were charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. To help with the investigation, it took over several law enforcement agencies. “The Office of Statewide Prosecution and FDLE worked on this investigation for nearly two years with law enforcement throughout the Eastern United States,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi in a written statement. “The large-scale cooperation among the various law enforcement agencies was a vast undertaking that will result in justice for the victims of these burglaries.”

It’s reassuring to know that these thieves have finally been caught. We’ve posted many burglaries that totaled up to over $100,000 in stolen goods, but this one takes the cake. That is large amount of money, and for these suspects to go unnoticed for 2 years really opens up our eyes that there are still people out there who will take these types of risks, especially in the state of our economy. They definitely knew what they were doing and how to approach every store they raided. It’s a scary thought to know that there are thieves like them prowling the streets waiting to scavenge up your hard earned profits or inventory. The suspects weren’t raiding or burglarizing just one area; they went from state to state, where they were never caught until now. It’s like something you would see out of a movie. You never truly realize or think that this type of criminal activity can happen to you, but they certainly can. It’s wise to prepare for the worse especially if you have valuables such as expensive jewelry and cash.

Even though it took police reinforcement 2 years to find the suspects, the saying goes “what comes around goes around.” They’ve had a short taste of living the luxury life, but will now have to pay for the consequences. You can never be too safe, no matter where you live. Make sure you have the necessary protection and security. Always keep in mind, “it’s better safe, than sorry.”

Source: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Massive-Miami-Based-Burglary-Ring-Busted-123915169.html

High Speed Chase Ends In Suspect Arrest

May 23rd, 2011

In Florida, the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force from Pensacola engaged in a suspenseful high-speed chase pursuing a man from Indiana who was wanted for a large number of burglaries. The primary suspect had raided spots in at least five different counties in Indiana where he stole a variety of rifles, handguns, electronic equipment jewelry, safes and other valuables worth about $25,000, which was recovered from his home in Corydon, Indiana.

The suspect was Zachary Taylor Frey, 22-years-old, who led the U.S. Marshals task force in a long high-speed chase. The dangerous and risky chase happened during heavy traffic around noon on U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 87, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Office.

Frey led the officers through the streets and making dozens of u-turns. At some points, he even took the risk of driving through on-coming traffic on U.S. 98 to deter the police officers. Fortunately it led to a dead end, but ended up at a school during operating hours, according to reports from the state.

While the chase went on, Frey even attempted to drive directly into the police vehicles as the law enforcers saw him smiling and taunting them like it was some sort of game, according to the report.

“Watching him laughing and smiling while engaged in such obvious disregard to the safety to others just sums up his character,” said Inspector Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Office.

Guadagnoli’s vehicle was hit by Frey head-on when they were in the Holly-Navarre Middle School’s parking lot, which eventually ended the high speed pursuit. “When we saw him head down that street and knew where it would lead to we thought the worst,” Guadagnoli said. “I’m just glad it was us he hit instead of children or someone else.”

Luckily, none of the officers were injured during the result of the crash. Frey was immediately apprehended and arrested, and put into the backseat of the police vehicle. In Frey’s vehicle, the officers had found a loaded 9mm pistol magazine. At the time, Frey was also staying at motel where officers also found a loaded 9mm handgun, but the magazine that was found in his vehicle seemed to be for another gun, according to the report.

Woman Arrested With Connection To Stolen Firearms

April 29th, 2011

Credit: Mason County Sheriff's Office

The sheriff’s deputies of Mason County in Grapeview, Washington arrested a 35-year-old woman on Monday night for her alleged role in the 76 firearms that was stolen, plus other items that was totaled to about $200,000.

The deputies are still in search of the second suspect who is a 45-year-old Grapeview man who they believe is still in Mason County. The two suspects are suspected of breaking into a home in Lake Limerick the morning of April 2^nd. According to the deputies, they believe that an acetylene torch was used to crack into the safes that contained the guns, mostly rifles and one handgun.

The other items that were stolen were coin and stamp collections, toy car collection, swords, knives and ivory. After searching the homes of the suspects, the investigators were able to recover a few of the items.

According to Dean Byrd, a sheriff’s office spokesman said that at least 32 guns were recovered during the investigation, but the ivory still remains missing. A man from Shelton had purchased the stolen firearms just four days after the break-in had happened. He reported the stolen firearms to the detectives and was able to help lead the investigators towards the two suspects.

Byrd said, “He’s been the victim of some crimes and I think he probably had an idea they were stolen. Being a good citizen he was, he called us to check.”

Based on the evidence gathered from the home and the information from the Shelton man, they were able to identify who the suspects were, Byrd said. The woman will be faced with first-degree unlawful possession of firearms, 32 counts of possession of a stolen firearm and first-degree trafficking of stolen property. Her bail is being held for $15,000. As for the man, he is described as white, 5’ 7’’, 152 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Police Arrest Man Who Stole $25,000 In Cash From Home Safes

April 18th, 2011

Police caught a man who was residing in a home where he stole cash from the homeowner’s safes. That suspect was 40-year-old Fernando Zuniga who was charged with stealing roughly between $25,000 to $30,000 in cash. According to East Cocalico Township police, Zuniga has been living at the home since July where the money was kept in two locked safes, and the safe keys were also left in the home.

Then on January 11th, the homeowner discovered that $25,000 was stolen from the home safes and even an additional $1,000 stolen from a desk drawer. According to police interviews, Zuniga was unemployed and had been gambling frequently at the Hollywood Casino in Grantville, Delaware Park Racetrack and Casino. He had told the police that he accumulated about $15,000 in slot machine and table games. On the other hand, further investigation shows that he spent almost $2,000 every day and his winnings never reached over $383 every gambling session and only had three winning days.

The records that were obtained by the police has shown that Zuniga visited the Hollywood Casino about 21 times between the months of August and December. During that time, he totaled about $7,496 in losses, the police said. They also added that Zuniga did use the money not only for gambling purposes, but also to buy a television, furniture and appliances. Zuniga is now convicted with a theft charge before District Judge, Nancy Hamill, and was sent to Lancaster County Prison under a $30,000 bail.

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