7 indicted in $100 million California jewelry heist, largest in U.S. history

Two Southern California men were taken into federal custody in connection with the 2022 theft of approximately $100 million in jewelry from a Brinks semitruck, as federal prosecutors unsealed charges against a total of seven defendants accused in what is considered the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the suspects are accused of stealing gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches being transported from an international jewelry show near San Francisco. Some of the stolen items were recovered during search warrants executed on Monday.

The two individuals arrested on Monday—Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, 41, of Rialto, and Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland—were taken into custody and appeared in court Tuesday.

The indictment, returned on June 11, also charges Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena; Jazael Padilla Resto, 36, of Boyle Heights, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Arizona; Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Los Angeles; Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of South Los Angeles; and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

All seven defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. Five of them—Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban—also face charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and robbery under the Hobbs Act.

Prosecutors say the group began tracking a Brinks truck on July 10, 2022, as it departed the San Mateo jewelry show with 73 bags of valuables. They allegedly followed it for nearly 300 miles to a rest stop in Lebec, north of Los Angeles, where they stole 24 bags containing an estimated $100 million in jewelry.

In the following days, several suspects deactivated their phones used during the operation, according to the indictment.

The group is also accused of other crimes earlier in 2022, including stealing $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics in Ontario and robbing a box truck driver of $57,000 in Apple AirTags, during which one suspect allegedly brandished a knife. Additional attempted and completed cargo thefts were reported in Fontana that May.

If convicted, the five defendants facing robbery charges could receive up to 20 years in prison per count. All defendants face up to five years for conspiracy to commit theft and 10 years for each count of theft from an interstate shipment.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and police departments in Fontana and Ontario.