Authorities say a coordinated burglary crew prowled San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, targeting homes in a short surge and stealing wallets, high-end handbags, watches, jewelry and more. Seven suspects have been charged after investigators tied them to at lea
For families in the San Fernando Valley, the break-ins weren’t just thefts. Police and prosecutors described a campaign that left neighborhoods rattled—homes cased, entry forced, and valuables taken with crews they called brazen, calculated and predatory.
Seven people have been charged in connection with a surge in residential burglaries in the San Fernando Valley. carried out by organized crews of thieves. authorities said. The suspects are accused of participating in at least 20 home burglaries. making off with wallets. high-end handbags. watches. jewelry and more. according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office.
“These defendants are accused of prowling neighborhoods, smashing their way into homes and stealing from families who were left shaken and violated,” Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
Police said the operation that led to multiple arrests gathered both stolen goods and burglary tools, suggesting investigators moved beyond pattern-making and into a case built around evidence seized after the suspects were taken into custody.
The push came after a spike in the region. Organized burglary crews targeting residential homes is described as a longstanding problem in Los Angeles. but there was an upswing in incidents in the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas last month. Prosecutors said thieves struck nine homes in a one-week period alone.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass directed the Los Angeles Police Department to increase patrols along Ventura Boulevard, described as a hotspot for burglaries.
At a news conference Wednesday, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said the recently arrested suspects conducted extensive research of properties and attempted to conceal their crimes using burner phones and cars rented under fraudulent identities. Luna also said organized burglary crews “are increasingly targeting affluent neighborhoods and often select homes near golf courses. parks and hiking trails and open space areas that provide easier access and escape routes.”.
Last month, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said many of the residential burglaries are tied to theft rings from South America as well as groups based in South L.A. McDonnell said crews use similar tools including hidden cameras to determine when residents leave their homes. Wi-Fi jammers to disrupt home security systems and ladders to get inside homes through second-floor windows.
The arrest effort was built to match that scale. The LAPD, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and Ventura County Sheriff’s Department worked collaboratively to apprehend the seven alleged thieves.
Among those charged is Byron Gonzálo Sáez Sotomayor. accused of burglarizing or attempting to burglarize 18 homes in the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles. Prosecutors said he often targeted multiple residences in a single evening. He was arrested while allegedly fleeing from a burglary in the Beverlywood area on May 4.
The 27-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of residential burglary, three counts of attempted residential burglary and one count of grand theft of a firearm. He is being held in lieu of $1.4-million bail and faces 26 years in state prison if convicted as charged.
Christopher Sanchez. 26. Owen Rivera-Chacon. 24. and Edisson Fabian Boyaca. 27. were arrested May 1 during a surveillance operation into the suspected burglary crew in Santa Clarita. prosecutors said. Each has been charged with one felony count of residential burglary. and Rivera-Chacon faces allegations of a prior-strike conviction for residential burglary.
They have all pleaded not guilty. If convicted as charged, Sanchez and Boyaca each face six years in state prison, while Rivera-Chacon faces 17 years in state prison.
The remaining three alleged thieves were taken into custody after neighbors spotted a break-in. Prosecutors said Wilmar Santiago Castelblanco-Robles. 20. and Cristian Rios-Cuadros. 24. were arrested April 26 after neighbors saw Rios-Cuadros and Castelblanco-Robles breaking into a Burbank home and called police. Police said the pair fled on foot and were apprehended by officers. while Alan Rolando Rodriguez-Pulido was arrested nearby while driving a suspected getaway vehicle.
They are each charged with one felony county of residential burglary and face six years in state prison if convicted as charged. Castelblanco-Robles and Rios-Cuadros pleaded not guilty, and Rodriguez-Pulido is scheduled for a mental competency hearing June 16.
McDonnell framed the arrests as part of an effort to counter coordinated theft. “Residential burglaries strike at the heart of people’s sense of safety. and we are responding with precision. urgency. and coordination. ” he said in a statement Wednesday. “The LAPD will continue to pursue organized burglary crews relentlessly until our neighborhoods are secure.”.
San Fernando Valley burglaries LAPD Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman Karen Bass Robert Luna Jim McDonnell Ventura Boulevard burglary crew burner phones organized crime