California burglary ring zeroed in on Asian Americans, police say; 3 suspects held
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- A trio of suspects were charged with 72 counts of burglary, officials said.
- They deliberately targeted AAPI households, police allege.
They found wedding rings, luxury watches, jewelry and family heirlooms — 700 pieces of stolen property estimated to be worth about $1 million.
Authorities made the haul after executing search warrants throughout Northern and Central California, recovering items police say were stolen by a sophisticated ring of burglars who targeted Bay Area Asian American households.
At a news conference Wednesday, San José officials announced the arrests of three people suspected of being members of that ring. Authorities linked the suspects to nearly 80 burglaries since June in West San José, Cupertino, Saratoga, Campbell and Mountain View.
“This is a good day after many months of bad news, of fear, frustration and anger,” San José Mayor Matt Mahan said. “For roughly six months, our AAPI community in the West San José region has lived in fear as home after home has been broken into and residents have wondered if they were next.”
Alberto Ibarra Vallejo, 25; Gonzalo Valencia Ramos, 28; and Jaime Martinez Arroyo, 46, were arrested Jan. 16 by San José police detectives and special operations team members, who were assisted by Stockton police SWAT officers, according to San José Police Chief Paul Joseph.
Calls to representatives of the accused were not returned.
Each is being held without bail, and all are due back in court Feb. 3.
Dubbed operation “Sticky Fingers,” a multi-agency investigation resulted in the arrest of 22 suspects alleged to have burglarized more than a dozen cannabis dispensaries in California.
Joseph counted 78 burglaries, including 30 in San José, 20 in Mountain View, 18 in Cupertino and Saratoga and 10 in Campbell.
The trio were charged with 72 counts of burglary, Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said.
“These crimes have deeply impacted our communities, instilling fear and preying on many vulnerable families,” Joseph said at the news conference.
The police chief said one of the reasons the crimes persisted was because area authorities — including the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department and the Mountain View and Campbell police departments — had been investigating the crimes individually.
It wasn’t until sheriff’s detectives recognized one of the suspects on a doorbell camera that a wider investigation was conducted, he said.
“Extensive surveillance and search warrants conducted by San José PD led us to uncover additional suspects involved in this prolific burglary operation,” Joseph said.
The men are part of a crew that methodically cased neighborhoods and targeted AAPI households, Joseph said.
The suspects are believed to be part of a large organization operating outside the United States. Arrests are rare because scammers often disappear after taking money from victims, authorities say.
“They believed that those were homes where they would find a lot of valuables,” Joseph said, “and it would be worth their time to break into those homes.”
The burglars allegedly eschewed large items such as televisions or electronics in favor of jewelry, cash and high-end purses. They also nabbed foreign currency, Joseph said.
“For San José residents and for many others in Santa Clara County, few crimes damage our sense of security and peace like a home invasion,” said San José City Councilmember Rosemary Kamei. “I live in the neighborhood. I understand. I felt the same fear and concern as all of the residents have experienced.”
Joseph said five firearms were also recovered in the searches, including three that had been reported stolen.
Detectives were still investigating whether there were additional members of this crew who were not yet identified. Joseph added that it was possible the number of burglaries tied to the three men would increase in the coming days.
Authorities also said enhanced charges of hate crimes would probably be added.
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