Two CA men charged in $100 Million jewelry heist –- largest in U.S. history

CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two Southern California men are expected to appear in court, June 17 after being arrested and charged in a federal indictment for a $100 million jewelry heist.

They allegedly broke into a Brinks semi-truck near San Francisco in July 2022, stealing gold, diamonds, and luxury watches.

Some of that jewelry was recovered during the execution of search warrants on June 16.

The indictment charges seven defendants with two counts of conspiracy and theft from interstate and foreign shipment:

Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena;
Jazael Padilla Resto, a.k.a. “Ricardo Noel Moya,” “Ricardo Barbosa,” and “Alberto Javier Loza Chamorro,” 36, of Boyle Heights and currently an inmate in Arizona state prison;
Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, a.k.a. “Walter Loza,” 41, of Rialto;
Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of the Rampart Village neighborhood of Los Angeles;
Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of South Los Angeles;
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland; and
Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Suspects followed a Brinks truck for 300 miles

According to the indictment, on the evening of July 10, 2022, Mestanza, Lugo, and Alban scouted a Brinks semi-truck leaving an international jewelry show in San Mateo, with 73 bags containing millions of dollars of jewelry.

From the evening of July 10, to the morning of July 11, the suspects along with Padilla, Valencia, Presilla, Macias, and others followed the Brinks truck 300 miles from San Mateo to rest stops near Los Angeles.

While the truck was stopped in Lebec, the defendants stole 24 bags from the Brinks truck containing approximately $100 million of jewelry. In the following days, Mestanza, Presilla, Alban, Lugo, and Valencia all deactivated their heist-related phone numbers.

Suspects also stole Samsung electronics

Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, and Valencia are also alleged to have stolen $240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario on March 2, 2022.

Those same defendants, and Alban, allegedly then robbed a box truck driver of $57,377 worth of Apple AirTags. One of the robbers brandished a knife and threatened the driver.

Then, on May 25, 2022, the defendants allegedly attempted to steal from one truck at a Fontana rest stop using a crowbar to break in.

Shortly after, the same defendants successfully stole approximately $14,081 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in Fontana.

Defendants face up to 10 years in prison for each theft charge

If convicted, Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban would face up to 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge, and all defendants would face up to five years in federal prison for the theft conspiracy charge and 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge.

The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Fontana Police Department, and the Ontario Police Department are investigating this matter.