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By Richard Winton
Los Angeles Occasions
LOS ANGELES — Within the desert round Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, law enforcement officials hunted for a member of a global heist ring suspected of swiping jewels and luxurious items from houses throughout Los Angeles. Utilizing helicopters and drones, they ultimately discovered him hiding beneath a tree.
The needed man, it turned out, was a 17-year-old from Chile.
Authorities say {the teenager} and his two grownup accomplices later admitted to breaking into a number of houses, a part of a rising pattern of “housebreaking tourism” from South America.
The Los Angeles Police Division stated the teenage fugitive was first arrested Feb. 29 in Pacific Palisades together with three different Chileans as they cased houses within the rich enclave. Police tracked down the crew after a safety digicam captured the license plate of their 2024 Hyundai Tucson amid a collection of burglaries throughout East Hollywood.
More and more over the past 5 years, police officers say, thieves from South American nations have entered the U.S. for the aim of committing robberies. Within the case of Chile, authorities suspect some criminals are benefiting from the vacationer visa system, which doesn’t require a background test for vacationers. As soon as within the nation, police say, they plan heist sprees and fence the loot earlier than dispatching their earnings again house.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton instructed The Occasions that South American theft teams usually are not new in L.A., however they’ve develop into extra energetic in latest months.
Though crime statistics present burglaries are on the decline general, Hamilton stated: “The variety of crimes tied to those type of crews are manner, manner up.”
He cautioned that it’s troublesome to know for sure what number of robberies will be attributed to overseas burglars, however stated proof signifies they’re behind scores of break-ins. He estimated that north of the 118 Freeway in L.A. final yr there have been 94 burglaries, many most likely dedicated by these crews.
“They usually goal houses usually related to open areas, climbing trails and canyons that give them entry,” Hamilton stated.
The teams largely hit rich neighborhoods the place houses have jewellery and high-value objects that may be simply exchanged for money, he stated.
“They have an inclination to not carry weapons. They don’t wish to get gun expenses,” Hamilton stated. “They generally carry jamming units to disable house safety methods.”
Whereas Chileans are among the many commonest members of those felony enterprises, Hamilton stated, they’re seeing different South People together with Peruvians, Ecuadoreans and Colombians as nicely. The LAPD and different native regulation enforcement businesses have fashioned a activity drive devoted to the issue.
“I can inform you that we’ve a major improve in burglaries from organized teams which can be exterior this nation, which can be coming into the nation, and they’re concentrating on high-end residents,” LAPD Chief Dominic Choi stated at Tuesday’s Police Fee assembly.
In a single case on Aug. 17 of final yr, Burbank law enforcement officials arrested a person recognized as Felipe Leiva Solis, a 33-year-old Chilean nationwide, after a girl hiding within the lavatory of her house referred to as to report that 4 males had damaged in via a sliding door. Leiva Solis was present in a close-by yard on Burbank’s North Parish Place and is suspected of 4 different burglaries throughout town, in keeping with court paperwork.
Leiva Solis was launched on bail however picked up once more on Dec. 19 in Glendale by law enforcement officials who suspect he was behind a string of burglaries within the metropolis. He was amongst a bunch of three males who tried to flee on foot when their car was stopped, in keeping with Glendale Police Investigator Jackie Nguy.
In court papers asking for Leiva Solis to stay in custody, Nguy alleged the Chilean was a part of “an organized housebreaking ring accountable for at least ten residential burglaries in Glendale,” and likewise tied to different thefts in Beverly Hills and different counties.
LAPD Det. Robert Hoebink stated in a court declaration that Leiva Solis’ crew was tied to no less than 30 burglaries in West Los Angeles alone. Hoebink alleged the Chilean used a faux passport to open a Financial institution of America account and wired greater than $23,000 again house regardless of being right here on a vacationer visa.
LAPD officers on Dec. 27 nabbed three extra of the crew allegedly tied to Leiva Solis close to Coldwater Canyon Drive south of Mulholland when referred to as to help Beverly Hills on a manhunt for burglars. Inside a Ford Explorer, police stated they discovered $1 million price of stolen designer purses, clothes, watches and jewellery — all believed to be from a single heist.
Three extra arrests would come the subsequent day as LAPD investigators recovered extra high-end objects from the group’s base of operations.
On Dec. 30, one other West L.A. housebreaking led Beverly Hills police to determine a white Mercedes GLS as tied to the crime, arresting a feminine driver and 4 different suspects close by.
Leiva Solis is being held with out bail and is slated to be again in court subsequent week. He’s pleaded not responsible to 3 counts of housebreaking and one rely of conspiracy to commit housebreaking.
Investigators say Chilean or South American crews are additionally behind lots of of break-ins in Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties.
In Orange County, District Lawyer Todd Spitzer has aggressively prosecuted South American thieves and sued the federal authorities for failing to reveal its negotiations with Chile over visa necessities for vacationers. He has referred to as for measures to cease criminals from coming into as vacationers.
Spitzer stated the Chilean authorities has refused to abide by a requirement to supply the U.S. with the felony historical past of Chilean residents who use a visa program referred to as Digital System for Journey Authorization, or ESTA. This system permits Chileans residents to enter the U.S. for 90-day intervals a vast variety of occasions. Visa necessities range between nations, however vacationers from a number of different South American nations sometimes require visas with tighter restrictions earlier than coming to the U.S.
With out felony histories of Chileans, prosecutors have been largely handcuffed in attempting to show defendants are linked past a single housebreaking cost, Spitzer stated.
The Chilean Embassy in Los Angeles didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Authorities stated the Chilean teenage fugitive arrested in Arizona had faux Venezuelan paperwork when he was arrested in L.A. and had repeatedly tried to evade police. After he was arrested Feb. 29 in L.A., he instructed authorities his parents had left him alone within the U.S. with a family pal. As soon as he was turned over to L.A. County children and Household Providers, he vanished after going for a stroll in Lakewood, police stated.
When he was ultimately recaptured this week, Scottdale Police Chief Jeff Walther stated {the teenager} had “court documentation from his crimes he dedicated in California and earlier than fleeing to Arizona … and a few property we try to tie to different burglaries.”
©2024 Los Angeles Occasions.
Go to latimes.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content material Company, LLC.
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