Authorities announced an indictment Tuesday in connection with a Southern California armored truck heist described by federal prosecutors as the largest jewelry theft in U.S. history.
Seven Southland men are named in a June 11 indictment related to the theft from a Brinks armored big rig in Kern County as it was traveling from a San Mateo jewelry show on July 11, 2022, as well as other crimes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
They were Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena; Jazael Padilla Resto, 36, of Boyle Heights and currently incarcerated in state prison Arizona; Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, 41, of Rialto; Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Los Angeles; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of South Los Angeles; Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland; andEduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of Los Angeles.
They each faces two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, as well as theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to a Department of Justice statement.
Cercado, Resto, Larroig, Solorzano and Alban are each additionally charged with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, along with additional counts of theft from interstate and foreign shipment.
Two of the suspects were scheduled to make initial appearances Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Los Angeles, officials said.
Officials declined to say which two suspects were recently arrested and expected in court. Other than Resto, who was already in custody out-of-state serving a sentence for burglary and expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks, the status of the other four defendants was not clear.
‘The largest jewelry heist in U.S. history’
The defendants are accused of breaking into the Brinks big rig in Lebec and stealing an estimated $100 million worth of gold, rubies, diamonds, emeralds and luxury watches “in what is considered to be the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.” the DOJ statement said. “Some of that jewelry was recovered during the execution of search warrants on June 16.”
Cercado, Larroig and Alban allegedly “scouted” the truck as it departed from an international jewelry show in San Mateo on the night of July 10, 2022. The truck contained 73 bags filled with jewelry, according to the indictment.
Cercado, Resto, Larroig, Solorzano, Flores, Ibarra and other accomplices followed the truck through the night as it travelled roughly 300 miles, stopping at rest tops in Buttonwillow, in Kern County, prosecutors said.
“While the truck was stopped in Lebec, those defendants stole 24 bags from the Brinks truck containing approximately $100 million of jewelry,” according to the statement.
Additional heists
Four of the suspects are also accused of taking part in additional high-value heists in the months leading up to the July jewelry caper.
Cercado, Resto, Larroig and Solorzano are accused stealing more than $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario on March 2, 2022, U.S. Attorney’s Office officials said.
“Those same defendants, and Alban, allegedly then robbed a box truck driver of $57,377 worth of Apple AirTags,” the statement said. “One of the robbers brandished a knife and threatened the driver.”
The men are then accused of trying, unsuccessfully, to break into a truck at a Fontana rest stop on May 25, 2022, before successfully stealing about $14,000 worth of electronics from another interstate shipment in the city a short time later.
If convicted as charged, the defendants could each potentially face decades in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Fontana Police Department, and the Ontario Police Department.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Southern California men arrested in connection with ‘largest jewelry heist in US history’
Reporting by Brian Day, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
