Prosecutors are bringing charges against 12 people they say were responsible for nearly 200 burglaries that primarily targeted victims of Asian descent.
An indictment in the case was announced Tuesday. According to Gwinnett County police, the charges come at the end of a two-year investigation into “coordinated” burglaries across the county in which thieves would force their way into homes and take valuables, including money, jewelry and identification documents. Since 2019, there have been about 200 burglaries resulting in the loss of $2.1 million in property, police spokeswoman Hideshi Valle said.
On Aug. 4, Rafael Comacho Molin, Oscar Revelio, Carlos Perlaza, Edwin Cuenu, Jenifer Sonet, Jorge Navarro, Jonathan Santiago Vargas, Alberto Sosa, Mario Cosme, Edwin Serrano, Cinthia Orobio-Rosero and Jhon Vilimaizar were indicted on a total of 66 felony counts ranging from obstruction to first-degree burglary, Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Five days later, police said they executed two search warrants at undisclosed locations and found about 200 handbags, as well money, jewelry, counterfeit social security cards, and passports.
“During the course of the investigation the suspects were linked to burglaries in several different counties (in) Georgia,” Valle said, naming Forsyth, Oconee, Clarke, Bibb and Fayette counties specifically. “They were also linked burglaries in Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.”
It was not clear if any of the suspects were facing charges in those cases. According to police, the burglaries primarily targeted victims of Asian descent, but not all victims were Asian.
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