A group of violent illegal migrants broke into a Long Island jewelry store with saws, then used the same instrument to cut off their ankle monitors and fled, authorities said Tuesday.
“It’s a damn disgrace,” fumed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, blaming the state’s bungled immigration and bond system for releasing the alleged criminals in the first place.
According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, “Whether we see them again is anybody’s guess — but that is the reality of our criminal justice system.”
The six “thugs” — members of the so-called “South American Theft Group” of “crime tourists” frightening the US from California to Colorado to New York — began their chaotic local break-in at 3 a.m. Thursday, according to authorities.
They began by cutting a hole in the roof of Florique, a floral business on Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury, Nassau, according to police.
The crooks, five Chileans and one Venezuelan, employed radio jammers to prevent police radios from operating in the area while they worked, officials claimed.
The thieves then sliced a hole in the shop’s adjoining wall with Elegant Jewelers and attempted to get into its safe, only to set off an alarm and leave in a dark gray Dodge Durango back to their rented AirBnB on Lake Drive in Huntington, according to police.
Authorities immediately apprehended the six suspects.
“All six defendants are in the US unlawfully. “Two of them illegally crossed,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
According to authorities, the gang was charged with two counts of third-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree criminal mischief, both of which are D felonies that are not eligible for bail under New York’s failed criminal-justice reforms.
Five of the suspects were released following their arraignments on Friday, with the sixth remaining in custody only because he had an open theft-related warrant in Pennsylvania.
However, two of the five did not show up later that day to receive their ankle monitors, and the three that did swiftly sawed theirs off and are now in the wind, according to officials.
The suspects were identified as:
-Bruna Paulo Bustos-Saaceddra, 33, who was issued an ankle monitor and then removed it in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Police stated he had fiercely resisted arrest.
Jonathan Andre BecceraPaez, 33, a Chilean wanted in Argentina for bank robbery. He cut off his electric monitoring device in New Jersey.
-Henry Yuri Fuentes-Sepulveda, 37, removed his ankle band while crossing the George Washington Bridge.
-Luis Mario Avendano-Tapia, 47, who failed to appear at his tracking device appointment.
-Lebanan R Daza-Gonzalez, 22, who did not appear to be equipped for his monitor.
-Leonardo Alberto Jara-Arias, 52, was the sole one jailed without bail due to a theft warrant. He also forcefully resisted arrest, according to police.
Blakeman described the scenario as “a mockery of our criminal justice system.”
The suspects are members of the loosely coordinated burglary gang “SATG,” which is already well-known in the area for stealing jewelry and designer goods, according to authorities.
“SATG” has also been responsible for a string of burglaries in California, where members hide surveillance cameras in bushes outside homes to monitor when homeowners leave.
The group’s members have also targeted wealthy Asian American houses in Colorado, according to law authorities.
Blakeman expressed his excitement with President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Tom Homan as border czar.
“With the election of President Trump and the appointment of Tom Homan, I believe you’ll see a new policy regarding the treatment of illegals in this country…” I expect them to be considerably more watchful. And the rules will alter. “The regulations will change,” Blakeman stated.
“But we need our state legislators and our governor to get serious about the issues that face this state and Nassau County and the region,” according to him.