Four people allegedly stole $100,000 worth of merchandise from a Westlake Village home in an organized burglary last week, police said.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said Monday it expected to find additional victims, although none have yet been identified. The office believes the group responsible is part of an “international organized crime theft ring” linked to at least one similar crime in Southern California, Det. Brian Koruda said in an email.
On May 5, a man returned to his Westlake Village home to find that the house had been ransacked and several items stolen. California Highway Patrol officers spotted one of the cars linked to the theft in the Calabasas area and pursued it until the car stopped and three people got out and ran away. All three were eventually found and arrested. Los Angeles police stopped another suspicious vehicle and arrested the driver.
The Sheriff’s Office said a search of the suspects’ cars led to four people believed to be connected to the thefts.
Javier Ricardo Pulido Ramirez, 41, Diego Cuervo, 39, Sergio Alejandro Paez Cuervo, 27, and Jesus Miguel Velez Hernandez, 35, were booked on charges of residential burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. Bail for all of them has been set at $500,000.
For at least the past few years, groups of international thieves have been traveling to Southern California and robbing homes and stores before fleeing back to their home countries. Several groups have been caught, including in Ventura County.
