Coral Springs Police Chief Bradley McKeone
By Kevin Deutsch
Police on Wednesday arrested seven alleged members of a burglary crew that targeted Asian residents in Coral Springs and other parts of South Florida.
The suspects, six men and one woman, are believed to have carried out around ten burglaries in recent weeks in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, police said. They were captured Wednesday after a joint operation involving Coral Springs Police, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Police said the break-in crew coordinated and carried out burglaries that targeted residences belonging to Asian business owners. At least two homes in Coral Springs were targeted, police said.
“I find that as very offensive because again, they’re targeting individuals, hardworking people, and this isn’t just a property crime, this is something that is a very serious crime that’s costing people their livelihoods and their businesses,” Coral Springs Police Chief Bradley McKeone said at a press conference Thursday.
Police investigators from Coral Springs and the county sheriff’s offices recently compared notes on cases and realized there was a pattern of Asian victims being targeted in burglaries across South Florida. They identified vehicles at some of the burglary scenes, tracked them down, and trailed some of the suspects into Coral Springs, where they burglarized a home Wednesday, police said.
The burglars allegedly removed a safe, jewelry, and cash from the residence, but police were on their trail. They followed the suspects after the burglary and arrested three of them in Margate, plus another four near Fort Lauderdale, police said.
All the goods stolen in Wednesday’s burglary in Coral Springs were recovered, police said.
“This is a trend that we’ve seen in South Florida that’s been occurring more and more with Asian business owners, restaurant and nail salon owners specifically, where when they’re at work, they’re trying to go about their day to make a living, these individuals will break into their house or commit crimes against them,” McKeone said.
The seven accused burglars, who police said hail from Colombia and Mexico, were identified as Julio Cesar Moreno Arenas, Bryan Munoz Diaz, Norma Garcia Maldonado, Wilson Daniel Agudelo Restrepo, and Jhon Edward Agudelo Restrepo, Edwin Nicolas Urquijo, and Ricardo Mauricio Llanos Velazquez.
The suspects were jailed on burglary and grand theft charges. Bond information in their cases was not immediately available.
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