NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Five men from a nationwide theft gang are on the run after targeting a jewelry store on Long Island last week, with some reportedly cutting off their GPS ankle monitors after their arrest, officials said on Tuesday.
The suspects are accused of using tools such as chainsaws, drills, torches, and police radio jammers to commit crimes across the country.
Six men were arrested for a burglary on Nov. 7 at around 3 a.m. in Woodbury after cutting through the roof of Florique Florists on Jericho Turnpike. Once inside, the suspects cut a hole through an interior wall that connected to Elegant Jewelers, according to Nassau County police.
The suspects left the jewelry store without taking anything and fled the scene in a dark gray Dodge Durango.
After a thorough investigation, detectives located the six suspects in Huntington and arrested them.
“These torches in the back of a normal vehicle and gets into an auto accident can cause a very large explosion on our streets, killing people,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said, emphasizing the dangerous nature of their tools.
Defendants Leonardo Alberto Jara-Arias, 52, Bruno Paulo Bustos-Saacedra, 33, Johnathan Andre Beccera-Paez, 33, Henry Yuri Fuentes-Sepulveda, 37, Luis Mario Avendano-Tapia, 47, and Lebanon R. Daza-Gonzalez, 22, are charged with burglary in the third degree and criminal mischief in the second degree.
Despite their arrest, five of the suspects managed to escape, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said during a press conference. “Even though the six were arrested, only one was able to be held on a warrant from another state. Only three showed up to get their monitors, and hours later they cut them off,” Donnelly explained.
Jara-Arias was the only suspect who did not get away.
The men removed their GPS ankle monitors in New Jersey, and five of the six remain on the loose. “Whether we see them again is anybody’s guess,” Donnelly said.