Latest news with #JesonNelonPresillaFlores
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
How a crew of seven pulled off the biggest jewelry heist in U.S. history, stealing gold, gems and watches worth $100 mn
Federal authorities have charged seven men in what is being called the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history—a daring $100 million theft of diamonds, gold, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches from a Brinks armored truck. The brazen heist took place in July 2022 after the suspects followed the truck for nearly 300 miles from an international jewelry show near San Francisco to a rest stop north of Los Angeles. There, the crew allegedly stole 24 out of 73 bags containing high-value items. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced the charges on Tuesday. Two of the suspects, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig and Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, were arrested Monday and indicted on federal theft and conspiracy charges. Four others remain at large, while a seventh—Jazael Padilla Resto—is currently serving time in Arizona for an unrelated burglary and is expected in federal court soon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nowa miniaturowa piła łańcuchowa clubsit Dowiedz się więcej Undo According to the indictment, Padilla first scouted the jewelry show in San Mateo on July 8, 2022. Days later, he and the others tracked the Brinks truck through multiple rest stops before executing the theft on July 11. The exact method used to access the truck remains unclear. After the robbery, the group allegedly transported the stolen goods to East Hollywood and began covering their tracks—many of them disabling the phones used during the operation. Some of the stolen jewelry has since been recovered in recent search warrants, although authorities have not disclosed how much. Live Events The suspects, all from the Los Angeles area, face multiple charges, including theft from interstate and foreign shipments, conspiracy, and interference with commerce by robbery. The defendants were identified as: Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31 Jazael Padilla Resto, 36 Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, 41 Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60 Jorge Enrique Alban, 33 Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42 Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36 In addition to the jewelry heist, several defendants are accused of other major thefts, including stealing over $240,000 in Samsung electronics and nearly $60,000 in Apple AirTags earlier in 2022. Authorities continue to investigate and search for the missing suspects and the unrecovered stolen goods.
CBS News
10 hours ago
- CBS News
7 Southern California men charged with "largest jewelry heist in U.S. history" for Brinks truck robbery
Seven Southern California men on Tuesday were charged for their part in what federal prosecutors called the "largest jewelry heist in U.S history" after they robbed a Brinks truck of nearly $100 million gold and jewelry in Lebec in 2022. Two of those men appeared in court on Tuesday, where they were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. All seven defendants received the same charges for the heist, prosecutors said. An indictment, which was returned in a downtown Los Angeles court last week, says that the group scouted a Brinks truck as it left an international jewelry show in San Mateo, California, carrying 73 bags that contained millions of dollars worth of jewelry. They then followed the truck for more than 300 miles until it reached a rest stop in Lebec, which is located about 80 miles north of Los Angeles. "While the truck was stopped in Lebec, those defendants stole 24 bags from the Brinks truck containing approximately $100 million of jewelry," said the DOJ's news release. In the following days, each deactivated the cellphone numbers they used during the heist, prosecutors said. Along with 41-year-old Rialto man Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig and 42-year-old Upland man Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, who were arrested Monday and appeared in court on Tuesday, prosecutors also charged: Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33 of, South Los Angeles; Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of Westlake; Jazael Padilla Resto, 36, of Boyle Heights; Victor Hugo Valencia Solarzano, 60, of Rampart Village. Padilla is currently serving a prison sentence in Arizona for third-degree burglary with unlawful entry and is expected to appear in court in coming weeks, prosecutors noted. Read more: $10 million worth of jewelry stolen from Brinks tractor-trailer, FBI investigating Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia and Alban were also charged with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery, as well as additional counts of theft from interstate and foreign shipment, prosecutors said. According to the DOJ, Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo and Valencia are also alleged to have stolen $240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario in March of 2022. Those same defendants, and Alban, allegedly robbed a box truck driver of more than $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags, during which one of the alleged robbers brandished a knife and threatened the driver. In May of 2022, prosecutors say that the defendants allegedly attempted to steal from a truck at a Fontana rest stop by using a crowbar. Shortly after that, they said that the same group stole more than $14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in Fontana. If convicted as charged, Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia and Alban face up to 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge, and all defendants face up to five years behind bars for the theft conspiracy charge and 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge, prosecutors said.
Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Associated Press
7 suspects identified in a $100M jewelry heist near Los Angeles, thought to be largest in US history
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven people have been identified and charged with stalking an armored truck to a rural freeway rest stop north of Los Angeles and stealing $100 million worth of diamonds, emeralds and more in what is believed to be the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history, federal authorities announced Tuesday. Two of the seven suspects have been arrested and were due in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, court records showed. Four of them remained at-large Tuesday, while one of the suspects is serving prison time in Arizona for an unrelated burglary and was expected to appear in court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig and Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores were arrested Monday, and both have been indicted on federal theft and conspiracy charges, authorities said. The Associated Press sent emailed requests Tuesday seeking comment from their lawyers. The heist unfolded in July 2022 after the suspects scouted the armored truck leaving an international jewelry show near San Francisco with 73 bags of jewelry, according to the indictment. The suspects followed the truck for roughly 300 miles (482 kilometers) to the rest stop north of Los Angeles, making off with 24 of the bags that authorities said also contained gold, rubies and luxury watches. Some of the jewelry has since been recovered, the U.S. Attorney's Office in California said Tuesday in a news release. Some of the suspects are also charged with other robberies, including one in March 2022 when $240,000 worth of electronics was taken from a truck. The indictment says some of the defendants would act as lookouts, while the others would break into trucks and steal the merchandise, sometimes by force or by threatening violence against the drivers.
