Prosecutors said the seven men charged with theft held a variety of immigrant status, ranging from full US citizenship to staying in the country without permission.
Seven people charged with robbery of the biggest gems in US history
Seven men have been charged in connection with the largest jewel robbery in US history. They escaped in 2022 with over $100 million in gems.
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No one was restrained at the muzzle, no injuries, and the burglar was made with over $100 million in jewels in minutes.
Without a single witness, the robber crew stole 24 bags filled with Rolex watches, emerald rings, diamond earrings, gold necklaces, and lavender jade stones the size of a Chicada.
For three years it looked like a robbery of the century.
Until June 17th, federal authorities released charges against seven men in connection with the July 2022 theft from the brink of Southern California.
In addition to the massive robbery that the US lawyers considers as “the biggest jewel robbery in US history,” the man has been charged with a series of thefts from various cargo trucks since March 2022.
“They were definitely professional, organized and prepared,” said Jena McCabe, a US lawyer who indicted the case, told USA Today. “They obviously solved a very successful system and were able to take cargo load after cargo loading.”
She said men have a variety of immigrant statuses, ranging from full US citizenship to being in the country without permission.
The way the authorities believe they carried out a robbery of the gems, the other thefts they were charged, and how investigators said they had caught them.
How the jewellery robbery went down
Prosecutors said the robber crew was scouting an international jewelry show just south of San Francisco in San Mateo on July 10, 2022.
But they didn’t attack immediately. Instead, they followed the track and waited for the right moment.
Prosecutors said they chased the truck south for 300 miles to a gas station in a small, unedited community in Lebeck, about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. When the truck driver and security guards got inside, the man attacked and quickly broke in, making a bag under the covers for the night.
They were very careful and can explain why they didn’t take all the booty, as some men acted as observation decks. Prosecutors said they took 24 of the 73 bags containing millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Realizing that it had hit the jackpot, McCabe said the man tried to cover his truck in the best way and disabled his mobile number. Then they disappeared at first glance.
Prosecutor: The robbery was the first of a half dozen.
The first theft in connection with the robber crew occurred on March 2, 2022, when the driver stole the Quickstop east of Los Angeles, Ontario, California, following a truck carrying Samsung electronics, prosecutors said.
Some men deflected the shop drivers, while the rest stole items worth $240,000, according to a federal complaint sealed on Tuesday, June 17th.
Other thefts caused by prosecutors:
- March 11, 2022: A box truck robber containing Apple Airtags from China that were being delivered to a warehouse in Fontana, California. The man attacked as the driver stopped for food, but he returned earlier than expected, urging one of the men to threaten him with a knife, prosecutors said. The driver was left unharmed, and the man escaped with an airtag worth $57,000.
- May 25, 2022: Semi-truck robbery with Samsung Electronics. Prosecutors said the man used his clover to break into the truck and earned a $14,000 item.
The next theft in the series was a jewelry robbery.
How investigators solved the crime
Maccabe was unable to share many details about how investigators solved the crime, but said that cell phone data is important despite the man deactivating the numbers.
Although there were no witnesses, McCabe said investigators had recovered surveillance footage, including a Flying J gas station in Rebeck, where the jewel theft occurred.
“It was really hard work for investigators to talk to the victims, review all the surveillance footage, see the cars involved, look at the phone records and try to figure out who these people are,” she said. “And it was a combination of all of them that we could identify these seven that we charged.”
The jewelry belonged to jewellers from various states who showed off their merchandise at shows in California, she said.
Prosecutors said they collected the jewelry on June 16, providing a search warrant, but did not specify how much. Maccabe said investigators are still working to track the rest, although less than half of the amount stolen.
She also said it is unclear how the men spend their income from the theft.
“We don’t have the information that they are spending luxury,” she said. “I think you know more as I keep looking into this and keep looking into what’s going on with the defendants over the past few years, but now I don’t know what they’ve done with all the loot from now on.”
Why is the man indicted?
Prosecutors identified the men they indicted, the men they each lived in recently, and the charges they faced.
- Carlos Victor Mestanza Celcado, 31, Pasadena, California.
- Jazael Padilla Rest, aka “Riccardo Noel Moya”, “Riccardo Barbosa” and “Alberto Javier Rosa Chamorro”, is currently a prisoner in Arizona.
- Pablo Raul Lugo Laroig, aka “Walter Rosa”, 41, Rialto, California.
- Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, Los Angeles.
- Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, Los Angeles.
- JESON NELON PESILLA FLORES, 42, Upland, CA.
- Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, Los Angeles.
They are all charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipping and theft from interstate and foreign shipping. Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia and Alban are charged with two conspiracy to interfere in commercial transactions by robbery and commercial transactions by robbery. Padilla is jailed in Arizona for third-degree robbery for illegal entry.
USA Today was unable to immediately identify an attorney representing the man. Maccabe was unable to determine which men had legal permission to be in the United States.
Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban are in prison for up to 20 years. Flores and Ibarra face up to 15 years, prosecutors said.
(This story has been updated to include a video.)
