Simi Valley police bust sophisticated burglary crew, allegedly tied to $3 million jewelry store heist
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said four suspects allegedly connected to the burglary, ranging in age from 25 to 37 years old, pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday to felony charges of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and conspiracy to receive stolen property.
"These were not teenagers burglarizing a local business to score quick cash," Nasarenko said. "Rather, they were sophisticated and skilled professionals who used countersurveillance measures, a collapsable ladder, rope, and power tools to cut through a roof, tunnel through a wall, breach a safe – to take millions in watches, jewelry, cash and other merchandise."
Simi Valley Police Department Chief Steve Shorts said at Friday's news conference that the suspects are allegedly tied to a South American theft group, a network known for committing organized and targeted commercial burglaries. "All suspects are Chilean nationals who have been in California for an undetermined amount of time," he said.
On May 25 around 11:30 p.m., the suspects allegedly entered the adjoining business of 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair through its roof. Shorts said they then tunneled their way through a shared wall into the jewelry store and spray-painted the surveillance cameras once inside the store. A safe containing approximately $3.5 million in cash, high-end watches, and precious jewelry was stolen.
The day before, on May 24, Shorts described what could have been a practice run for the suspects, as they used similar tactics to break into Simi Jewelers & Pawnbrokers, but nothing was stolen.
Shorts said detectives also located surveillance footage from the shopping plaza where 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair is located that showed the suspects allegedly scouting the site five days before the burglary occurred.
Through coordinated efforts with local, state, and federal agencies, detectives used surveillance footage, license plate reader data and forensic review of digital evidence to identify the suspects.
On June 10, police arrested Sergio Machuca, 28, Manuel Ibarra, 37, Camilo Lara, 32, and Heidy Trujillo, 25, all San Fernando Valley residents. "Some … were actually carrying the stolen merchandise in multiple bags from the jewelry store at the time of their arrest, while others were literally wearing the stolen jewelry," Nasarenko said.
During the arrests and subsequent Canoga Park search warrant, detectives recovered large amounts of jewelry, cash, and designer watches, confirmed to be items from the Simi Valley jewelry store, and its adjoining candy shop business.
There may be additional cases connected to this group, but police could not provide further details. "But believe me, that is being examined by outside agencies," Shorts said. All four suspects remain jailed on $100,000 bail.
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