Seven California males charged in ‘largest jewelry heist in U.S. history’
Seven California men have been charged in connection with a jewelry heist prosecutors described as the “largest in U.S. history.”
The men, all from the Los Angeles region, are accused of stealing $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches from a Brinks semitruck near San Francisco in 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Those charged are 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; and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36.
Prosecutors say Mestanza, Lugo, and Alban scouted the Brinks semitruck as it left a jewelry show in San Mateo, California in July 2022. Six of the men then followed the truck to a rest stop in Lebec, California, where prosecutors claim they broke in and stole 24 bags of jewelry.
The truck’s guards noticed the lock had been broken around 2 a.m. on July 11, 2022, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Police executed search warrants on June 16 and recovered some of the stolen jewelry, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Two of the men appeared in federal court Tuesday. Padilla is already being held in an Arizona prison on a burglary charge.
Prosecutors say Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, and Valencia also stole more than $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics on March 2, 2022. That same group, as well as Alban, is also accused of robbing a box truck driver at knifepoint and stealing more than $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags.
Around May 2022, some of the defendants successfully stole an additional $14,000 worth of Samsung electronics, prosecutors claim.
The Independent was unable to identify the men’s attorneys.
Source: independent.co.uk
