International theft ring makes Arizona their latest target

PHOENIX — Seven Colombian nationals are behind bars in Maricopa County after Scottsdale police say they dismantled an organized theft ring that targeted homes across the West Coast, with Arizona as the group’s latest stop.

The suspects — four men and three women — were arrested last week at a short-term rental property near Scottsdale’s Fashion Square Mall. Their capture followed a coordinated surveillance operation by Scottsdale police, who say they tracked the group after receiving a tip from authorities in Burbank, California.

According to police, the suspects had left a burglary trail through Washington, Oregon, and California before arriving in the Phoenix metro area. Officers began surveillance after learning the group was staying at an Airbnb property. The suspects were caught at that home after undercover detectives watched them burglarize two homes in Tempe and Mesa, court documents said.

“This is organized crime. It’s incredibly dangerous. It’s invasive. It’s multi-state,” said Bernard Zapor, former ATF special agent in charge and now faculty associate at Arizona State University. “There’s a federal nexus here, which makes this potentially a federal crime.”

Court records detail the crew’s coordinated tactics. One man would pose as a food delivery driver, knocking on doors to see if anyone was home. A woman, acting as a lookout, would walk a dog nearby while two other men reportedly scaled backyard walls, broke in through windows, and ransacked the properties.

Their targets: high-end designer items, cash, and valuables that could be quickly resold. Items recovered included jewelry, expensive sneakers, and even a French bulldog reportedly stolen from a California residence.

What the suspects didn’t know was that Scottsdale police had deployed a drone to monitor the break-ins from above, while undercover officers tracked them on the ground. Police say they arrested the group without incident just hours after the second burglary.

Linda Tabor, who lives next door to the Airbnb where the suspects were staying, watched as heavily armed SWAT officers arrived in a BearCat vehicle and ordered the group out of the home one by one.

“They just said that these were Colombian thieves. It’s a big ring,” Tabor recalled.

Officers served a search warrant at the home and emerged with bags of suspected stolen property. Footage from neighbors’ Ring cameras captured portions of the dramatic takedown.

“People that are professional criminals or career criminals from any country, they are just looking for opportunity,” Zapor said.

12News visited the homes targeted in Tempe and Mesa on Tuesday. Nobody answered the door at the home in Tempe, while the Mesa homeowners declined to speak. They answered the door but appeared visibly shaken.

“It’s hard to make a living these days, to buy nice things,” Tabor said. “And it’s heartbreaking to lose it all like that, and then destroying the property. That’s bad. It’s unconscionable.”

All seven suspects have been charged with second-degree burglary and made their first court appearance over the weekend. They have been identified as:

• 23-year-old Nicolas Rojas Leon 
• 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Orozco-Vargas 
• 38-year-old Andres David Sanchez-Novoa 
• 26-year-old Natalia Isabella Ortiz-Daza
• 28-year-old Martha Juliana Echiverri-Guzman 
• 32-year-old Lady Johanna Gueito 
• 25-year-old Angie Paola Herandez-Manrique  

The suspects are all in the country illegally, court documents said. 

Zapor suspects federal prosecutors will take a close look at their crimes once the dots are connected to burglaries in other states. Given that stolen property may have been taken across state lines, the crimes could be much more severe.

“There’s a lot of potential for this thing to go in some really great directions for us as citizens, and some very bad directions for the people who are responsible,” Zapor said.

For now, the suspects remain in custody as investigators piece together the full scope of their alleged crime spree.