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Burglary Crew Stopped After Multi-State Crimes Net Millions
By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Monday, June 9th, 2014
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department Beginning in February 2013, a series of 19 residential burglaries occurred in Ventura County, in which members of the Indian community were specifically targeted for losses totaling more than $1 million in cash, jewelry and gold. The investigation into the break-ins revealed they were occurring in several other counties in California and Nevada. Investigators were able to identify, locate, and arrest members of this burglary crew who are affiliated with a Long Beach-based criminal street gang. The Sheriff’s Office Crime Analysis Unit was able to utilize evidence and data from a variety of sources to identify and track down the suspects. The group targeted members of the Indian community by searching the Internet for open-source information to identify families with common Indian surnames. Once identified, they would scout specific locations before breaking into the victims’ homes. The suspects used pre-paid mobile phones to call the victims’ residences prior to breaking in to ensure nobody was at home. The suspects also drove newer vehicles and dressed nicely to avoid raising suspicion among the victims’ neighbors. Shortly after the burglaries began, detectives reached out to members of the Indian community in Ventura County to warn them of the emerging trend. As a result of that outreach, several burglaries resulted in little or no loss of valuable property because the potential victims had taken precautions to protect their property. These cases involved investigators from numerous law enforcement agencies sharing information and working together to identify the suspects involved. Among the various law enforcement jurisdictions, more than 100 residential burglaries of this type took place in a one-year period. The group averaged two burglaries per week during that time period. Five of the suspects have been arrested, while four additional suspects are being sought and have outstanding warrants for their arrests. Since the arrests were made and warrants were issued, there have been no additional cases of this type within Ventura County. Images of the suspects can be viewed through the following link: http://tinyurl.com/VCSOpressconference060414 Nature of Incident: Burglary Crew Stopped After Multi-State Crimes Net Millions |
