06-04-2025
Six men imprisoned for 39 thefts from Colorado construction sites
Six California men who made regular trips to Colorado to steal tools and construction equipment from Front Range building sites have all been sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
The men stole more than $1.1 million in property from 39 construction sites over three years. Law enforcement called the investigation into the scheme "Operation Wrecking Ball."
The criminals hit sites in construction sites in Monument, Aurora, Broomfield, Northglenn, Denver, Greeley, Fort Collins, Firestone, Arvada, Loveland, Brighton, Lafayette, and Commerce City, according to the "Operation Wrecking Ball" indictment. The men, it stated, ventured into Colorado and scouted construction sites during daylight hours, then returned at night to break in.
The Lafayette Police Department learned significant information about the men following a pair of construction site burglaries there on October 29, 2021. Several of that department's search warrants produced evidence that was common to both break-ins. Further investigation connected the men to other burglaries in other communities.
Those included two burglaries in the Fort Collins area. There, the Poudre School District was building Wellington Middle-High School. The suspects broke into 14 storage containers, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. The construction company reported losses of more than $136,000 in that one burglary alone.
To the southeast of that property, a new campus was being built for Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Colorado, an independent charter school. Construction crews at the school reported losses of $43,200.
The six men were captured in California in January 2023. A month later, a Boulder County grand jury recommended organized crime charges against all six that accused them of racketeering, which is defined as a pattern of illegal activity seeking profit that is carried out by a criminal syndicate.
Carlos David Campos, 33, was indicted on 76 counts. He was sentenced in October of last year to 20 years in the Colorado Department of Correction on a single racketeering count. A total of 18 years was added on burglary and theft counts.
Samuel Armando Arevalo Aguilar, also 33, received an identical sentence a month later.
Ricardo Antonio Quevedo Rios, 38, was sentenced to 16 years in the state prison on the organized crime count.
That was the same term given 26-year-old Bayron Arturo Moreno Gomez in July.
Francisco Garcia Argueta, 27, was the first of the group to be sentenced (more than a year ago). He received 10 years on the organized crime count alone.
Oscar Orlando Herrera, at 60 the oldest member of the group, was the last man to be sentenced (three months ago). He got 12 years.
All but Argueta were ordered to pay money back to their victims - more than $32,000 each from Campos, Aguilar, Herrera and Rios, and almost $2,800 from Gomez. The total amount of restitution ordered falls notably short of the value of the items they stole and the damage caused why stealing them.
