Latest news with #CarlosVictorMestanzaCercado
Ottawa Citizen
20-06-2025
- Ottawa Citizen
Seven men charged over largest jewellery heist in U.S. history
Article content Police in California have made several arrests and laid charges in what they are calling the largest jewellery heist in U.S. history. The 2022 crime is said to have resulted in the theft of more than US$100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches. Article content According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, on the evening of July 10, 2022, two men scouted a Brinks truck leaving an international jewellery show in San Mateo, Calif., with 73 bags containing millions of dollars of jewellery. Overnight, six men and other conspirators followed the truck approximately 480 kilometres from the show to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles. Article content Article content Article content At the second stop, defendants stole 24 bags from the truck containing about US$100 million in jewellery. In the following days, they all deactivated their cellphone numbers that they had been using during the heist. Article content Article content Several of the men are also alleged to have stolen US$240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario, Calif., four months earlier. Those same defendants then allegedly robbed a box truck driver of US$57,377 worth of Apple AirTags, with one of the robbers brandishing a knife to threaten the driver. Article content Next, on May 25, 2022, the defendants allegedly attempted to steal from one truck at a Fontana, Calif., rest stop using a crowbar to break in. Shortly after, they successfully stole approximately US$14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in the same city. Article content Article content The accusations in the 14-page indictment have not yet been proven in court. The trial is set to start on Aug. 1. If convicted, five of the men would face statutory maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge, and all would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the theft conspiracy charge, plus 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge. Article content Article content The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Fontana Police Department, and the Ontario Police Department are continuing their investigation. Article content Facing charges are seven men from California: Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena, Calif; Jazael Padilla Resto, a.k.a. 'Ricardo Noel Moya,' 'Ricardo Barbosa,' and 'Alberto Javier Loza Chamorro,' 36, of Boyle Heights and currently an inmate in Arizona state prison; Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, a.k.a. 'Walter Loza,' 41, of Rialto; Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Los Angeles; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of Los Angeles; Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland; and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of Los Angeles. Article content
Vancouver Sun
20-06-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Seven men charged over largest jewellery heist in U.S. history
Police in California have made several arrests and laid charges in what they are calling the largest jewellery heist in U.S. history. The 2022 crime is said to have resulted in the theft of more than US$100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, on the evening of July 10, 2022, two men scouted a Brinks truck leaving an international jewellery show in San Mateo, Calif., with 73 bags containing millions of dollars of jewellery. Overnight, six men and other conspirators followed the truck approximately 480 kilometres from the show to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles. At the second stop, defendants stole 24 bags from the truck containing about US$100 million in jewellery. In the following days, they all deactivated their cellphone numbers that they had been using during the heist. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Several of the men are also alleged to have stolen US$240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario, Calif., four months earlier. Those same defendants then allegedly robbed a box truck driver of US$57,377 worth of Apple AirTags, with one of the robbers brandishing a knife to threaten the driver. Next, on May 25, 2022, the defendants allegedly attempted to steal from one truck at a Fontana, Calif., rest stop using a crowbar to break in. Shortly after, they successfully stole approximately US$14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in the same city. The accusations in the 14-page indictment have not yet been proven in court. The trial is set to start on Aug. 1. If convicted, five of the men would face statutory maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge, and all would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the theft conspiracy charge, plus 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge. The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Fontana Police Department, and the Ontario Police Department are continuing their investigation. Facing charges are seven men from California: Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena, Calif; Jazael Padilla Resto, a.k.a. 'Ricardo Noel Moya,' 'Ricardo Barbosa,' and 'Alberto Javier Loza Chamorro,' 36, of Boyle Heights and currently an inmate in Arizona state prison; Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, a.k.a. 'Walter Loza,' 41, of Rialto; Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Los Angeles; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of Los Angeles; Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland; and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of Los Angeles. Assistant United States Attorneys Jena A. MacCabe and Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting the case. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
Calgary Herald
20-06-2025
- Calgary Herald
Seven men charged over largest jewellery heist in U.S. history
Article content Police in California have made several arrests and laid charges in what they are calling the largest jewellery heist in U.S. history. The 2022 crime is said to have resulted in the theft of more than US$100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches. Article content According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, on the evening of July 10, 2022, two men scouted a Brinks truck leaving an international jewellery show in San Mateo, Calif., with 73 bags containing millions of dollars of jewellery. Overnight, six men and other conspirators followed the truck approximately 480 kilometres from the show to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles. Article content Article content Article content At the second stop, defendants stole 24 bags from the truck containing about US$100 million in jewellery. In the following days, they all deactivated their cellphone numbers that they had been using during the heist. Article content Article content Several of the men are also alleged to have stolen US$240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario, Calif., four months earlier. Those same defendants then allegedly robbed a box truck driver of US$57,377 worth of Apple AirTags, with one of the robbers brandishing a knife to threaten the driver. Article content Next, on May 25, 2022, the defendants allegedly attempted to steal from one truck at a Fontana, Calif., rest stop using a crowbar to break in. Shortly after, they successfully stole approximately US$14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in the same city. Article content Article content The accusations in the 14-page indictment have not yet been proven in court. The trial is set to start on Aug. 1. If convicted, five of the men would face statutory maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge, and all would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the theft conspiracy charge, plus 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge. Article content Article content The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Fontana Police Department, and the Ontario Police Department are continuing their investigation. Article content Facing charges are seven men from California: Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena, Calif; Jazael Padilla Resto, a.k.a. 'Ricardo Noel Moya,' 'Ricardo Barbosa,' and 'Alberto Javier Loza Chamorro,' 36, of Boyle Heights and currently an inmate in Arizona state prison; Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, a.k.a. 'Walter Loza,' 41, of Rialto; Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Los Angeles; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of Los Angeles; Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland; and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of Los Angeles. Article content
New York Times
19-06-2025
- New York Times
They Followed a Truck for 300 Miles. Then They Stole $100 Million in Jewelry.
The Brink's semi truck containing dozens of bags of glittering jewels and luxury watches from an international jewelry show near San Francisco pulled into a rest stop nestled among the mountains north of Los Angeles. So, too, did the thieves who were following it on a 300-mile journey. Although specific details on how exactly they pulled off what federal prosecutors are calling 'the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history' were not available, an indictment in the case said that some had acted as lookouts while others made off with 24 bags, containing an estimated $100 million worth of goods. Now, nearly three years later, seven men have been charged in connection with the theft, and some of the jewelry that was stolen has been recovered, the Justice Department said in a news release on Tuesday. 'This isn't a group that just woke up and met in the park and said, 'Hey, let's go follow a jewelry tractor-trailer from a jewelry show,'' said Scott Guginsky, the executive vice president of the Jewelers' Security Alliance, a trade association that tracks jewelry crimes for retailers and the police, adding that a lot of thought goes into planning such a crime. The men who have been indicted — Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, Jorge Enrique Alban, Jazael Padilla Resto, Eduardo Macias Ibarra, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores and Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano — each face two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, as well as theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to the Justice Department, which did not say how the men were caught. Five of the men — Mr. Mestanza, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Lugo, Mr. Valencia, and Mr. Alban — were also charged with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, as well as interference with commerce by robbery, prosecutors said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
18-06-2025
- Washington Post
Seven charged in ‘largest jewelry heist in U.S. history' after $100M theft
Seven men have been charged with stealing approximately $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches in 2022, in what prosecutors called the 'largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.' The defendants — Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, Jorge Enrique Alban, Jazael Padilla Resto, Eduardo Macias Ibarra, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores and Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano — were named in an indictment returned last week, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jena A. MacCabe, lead attorney for the case, said that Lugo and Flores appeared in court on Tuesday and are now in custody pending trial. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Padilla is in prison in Arizona serving a sentence for third-degree burglary and is expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks, the Justice Department said. Four of the men were still at large, the Associated Press reported. The federal charges come after a years-long investigation into the unprecedented heist, which stunned law enforcement and left several jewelers bankrupt, according to the Los Angeles Times. Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement that he was 'gratified that we can finally begin to give answers to the victims of this massive theft and deliver them a measure of justice by holding these defendants accountable.' The heist occurred on July 10, 2022, on the sidelines of an international jewelry show in San Mateo, California. According to the indictment, Mestanza, Lugo, Alban and other defendants tracked a Brink's armored semitruck containing millions of dollars of jewelry as it left the show and headed south. They are accused of following the truck for approximately 300 miles overnight, to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles. During the rest stop in Lebec, prosecutors said the defendants stole 24 bags containing about $100 million of jewelry from the truck. Law enforcement recovered some of the jewelry Monday while executing search warrants, the Justice Department said. Some of the men are also accused of participating in three other robberies in California around that time: According to the indictment, on March 2, 2022, Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo and Valencia stole $240,573 worth of Samsung Electronics from a truck at a rest stop in Ontario. About a week later, according to the indictment, those four men and Alban stole $57,377 worth of Apple AirTags from a box truck in Fontana, and one man threatened the truck driver with a knife. Finally, on May 25, Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia and Alban allegedly stole $14,081 worth of Samsung Electronics from a semitruck in Fontana. All seven were charged with conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban are also charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery, as well as theft from interstate and foreign shipment, the Justice Department said. The indictment lays out how the men traveled to various locations, 'including traveling long distances, to identify and rob, steal, unlawfully take, and unlawfully carry away goods and chattels from victims who were operating in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.' But the haul from the suspects' alleged July 10-11 jewelry heist was significantly larger than those from the previous robberies described in the indictment. Some of the jewelers whose merchandise was stolen have been engaged in a legal battle with the security company Brink's over disagreements about the true value of the haul, the L.A. Times reported. The jewelers sued Brink's, alleging gross negligence, and claimed their goods were valued at $100 million, the outlet said. Brink's filed its own lawsuit that said that the jewelers 'substantially under-declared the value of their shipments,' and said the declared value of the stolen goods was close to $9 million.
