Gang Jailed over $3m Jewelry Store Raids
December 14, 24
(IDEX Online) - Three gang members in the US have been sentenced for a series of jewelry store smash-and-grabs in which they stole goods worth over $3m.
They pleaded guilty to burglaries in Illinois, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia between May 2023 and August 2024.
And they are suspects in more than 20 similar thefts at jewelry stores in the Southeast and Midwest of the country, according to the Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office, east central Ohio, where they appeared in court.
Pedro Garcia, 44, of Los Angeles, California, and Reyes Higuera, 51, were both sentenced to 14 years in prison and Rafael Flores Hernandez, 39, to 16½ years.
At earlier hearings, all three pleaded guilty to felony engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and felony aggravated theft.
Hernandez and Higuera are illegal aliens from Mexico and have been deported from the United States multiple times, the prosecutor's office said.
The trio were caught during a 4am raid after police officers fitted a tracker to their car.
Pics courtesy Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office show (left to right) Rafael Flores Hernandez, Pedro Garcia, and Reyes Higuera.