District of Connecticut | Indictment charges 7 in nationwide jewelry theft ring

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned indictments charging seven individuals for their alleged involvement in an organized jewelry theft ring that targeted malls and newsstands across the country.

The complaint was filed on July 16, 2024, and partially made public yesterday.

EDIXON RINCON POINTS44, formerly of Los Angeles, California, was arrested on July 17 in Queens, New York, and HAROLD RAMIREZ CAGUAalso known as “Gordo”, 40, from Miami, Florida, and YESENIA MELENDEZ RINCON40, from Kissimmee, Florida, were arrested on July 18. Rincon Puentes and Ramirez Cagua are being held, and Melendez Rincon was released and sent home with location surveillance. A fourth suspect, JORGE GIOVANNI ESCOBAR GONZALEZ40, of Kissimmee, Florida, was previously being held in Florida on existing state charges but is now in federal custody. The three remaining suspects are currently being sought by law enforcement and their identities remain confidential.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, from May 2023 to April 2024, Ramirez Cagua, Rincon Puentes, Melendez Rincon, Escobar Gonzalez, and others burglarized jewelry stores and mall kiosks and then transported the stolen goods or proceeds across state lines. The accomplices burglarized jewelry stores at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Connecticut on October 5, 2023; in Hamilton Township, New Jersey on October 27, 2023; in Henrico, Virginia on November 4, 2023; and in Horseheads, New York on April 18, 2024. The total losses from these burglaries exceed $1.28 million. Members of the conspiracy robbed additional jewelry stores and kiosks in Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Delaware.

The indictment charges Ramirez Cagua, Rincon Puentes, Melendez Rincon and Escobar Gonzalez each with conspiracy, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and with interstate transportation of stolen property, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not proof of guilt. Indictments are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI New Haven Transnational Organized Crime Task Force with assistance from the Milford (Conn.) Police Department, the Hamilton Township (N.J.) Police Division, the Delaware State Police, the Henrico County (Va.) Police Division, the New York State Police, the New York Police Department, and the Pensacola (Fla.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.

District Attorney Avery thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the FBI offices in New York, Dallas, Miami and Tampa for their assistance.