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. 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.

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