Security footage captured inside a strip mall showed three male suspects casing a Simi Valley jewelry store days before it was burglarized last month for more than $3 million in jewelry and other valuables.
The men inspected ceiling access, potential camera angles and sat beside the shared wall separating 5 Star Jewelry & Watch Repair and a candy shop it bordered May 20, authorities allege.
One of the suspects even mimicked spray-painting over a security camera, authorities allege.
Five days later, the suspects broke into the adjacent sweet shop overnight through the roof, used ladders and ropes to propel down, blacked out surveillance cameras and spent hours boring a hole through a wall and into a 5,000-pound safe to make off with jewelry, bullion, cash and heirlooms belonging to the jewelry store’s customers, according to a criminal complaint.
That security footage was key in arresting four Chilean nationals with ties to an international theft ring, according to Simi Valley police. The suspects were charged with four felonies, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko announced at a press conference in front of the jewelry and repair shop Friday morning.
Manuel Ibarra, 38, Camilo Lara, 32, Sergio Mejia-Machuca, 27, and Heidy Trujillo, 26, were charged with two counts of conspiracy to receive stolen property and two counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary.
Nasarenko added that the offenses carried additional enhancements since the burglary drew more than $3 million. He added that the defendants could spend between six and nine years in state prison, if found guilty on all counts.
All four defendants entered not guilty pleas Thursday and are being held on $100,000 bail. The group is due back in court June 23. A representative from the Ventura County public defender’s office was not available to comment on behalf of the accused.
Nasarenko thanked Simi Valley police for investigating, arresting and charging the defendants within a short span.
“This happened within three weeks of the date of the alleged offenses, bringing accountability and a measure of justice to the city of Simi Valley and the independent small businesses that make it such a tight-knit and supportive community,” he said.
Jewelry store owner Jonathan Youssef described the arrests as “bittersweet.”
“It’s nice that they’re off the streets, but we’re not getting much of anything back,” he told The Times.
Simi Valley Police Chief Steve Shorts said officers recovered about $600,000 in confirmed stolen property and jewelry, including matches to 5 Star’s inventory. He added that more than $20,000 in cash was also recovered.
The break-in was reported on Memorial Day. Simi Valley police received a call at 6:33 a.m. from Jonathan and his father, Jacoub Youssef.
At the time, Jonathan estimated his store lost between $2 million and $2.5 million in cash and inventory — gold bullion, silver bars, white gold and platinum pieces, multiple high-end watches and center-stone diamond engagement rings.
Shorts confirmed that some recovered timepieces were Rolex, TAG Heuer and Omega watches that fit 5 Star’s inventory.
Most of the stolen inventory consisted of roughly 100 pieces of jewelry from neighborhood clients that were being repaired or restored by the Youssefs.
Jonathan said he’s aware of some of what has been recovered, which includes several loose stones that were “ripped out of” larger gold jewelry that he believes has already been scrapped.
He said the thieves “were really quick” in unloading the jewelry.
“My father and I are melancholic,” Jonathan said. “In the end, these criminals are getting a few years of prison time for ruining the lives of so many people and forever damaging so many people. It’s a slap on the wrist.”
Jonathan said he was thankful for many community fundraisers and online campaigns that have helped recoup a small portion of the losses.
Outside the valuables recovered, Shorts said detectives discovered commercial burglary tools and jewelry testing equipment during the arrest of the suspects.
He said police also uncovered a firearm taken from a separate pawn shop burglary in Los Angeles in which a wall was similarly breached, but he declined to further discuss other burglaries that the crew may have committed.
