In what unfolded like the plot of an international crime drama, three burglars involved in a rash of high-end home thefts across San Diego County have been handed down prison sentences. The trio, who authorities say are part of a larger syndicate that employs the U.S. Visa Waiver Program to orchestrate 'burglary tourism,' were convicted for a break-in that occurred in Carlsbad this past January, according to a news release from the San Diego County District Attorney's office.
The sentences meted out were four to six years for the involvement in what has been an escalating series of similar crimes in the area, with Christian Tapia, 39, and Romai Aranedapogge, 36, receiving the longer stretch of six years behind bars and Joe Acevedo, 20, getting a four-year term; as the District Attorney Summer Stephan put it, "These criminals not only stole cash and valuables from the victims, but they also stole the community’s peace of mind". In a daylight operation fraught with coordinated evasion usually seen in heist films, the defendants, upon discovering police presence, had dashed from the Carlsbad home—and sent police on a brief chase before being apprehended.
Adding context to this disturbing trend, the defendants, revealed to be citizens of Chile and Italy, apparently typify a South American Theft Group modus operandi; characterized by burglarizing affluent neighborhoods, the thieves often hit homes adjoining less patrolled areas like open spaces or trails, a detail corroborated by the District Attorney's office. Utilizing the ESTA Visa Waiver program, which enables Chilean nationals to gain U.S. entry almost unvetted for 90 days, these burglars are noted to possess criminal records in Chile but slip through the cracks of international law enforcement collaboration.
The burglars' strategy of utilizing false identification, renting vehicles under fake pseudonyms, and cycling through pre-paid phones likely assists in obscuring their moves from the authority’s grasp—tactics that San Diego's law enforcement are now all too familiar with and have been, in this case, successful in countering, "This case is part of a crime spree that has plagued our nation where organized criminal rings, often with criminal records in their own country, are given a visa to the United States that they use to commit burglary tourism," DA Stephan emphasized in charging documents. Deputy District Attorney Malak Behrouznami, who prosecuted the case, shares the credit for this triumph of justice over transnational organized crime.
