(WWJ) – Three Chilean nationals have been charged in connection with a string of high-end home burglaries in Metro Detroit and the Grand Rapids area, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday.
The suspects were charged with multiple felonies for crimes dating back to February 2023, according to Nessel’s office. Last week Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard announced the formation of a task force to crack down on recent robberies in the area.
He said at the time a group of Chilean gang members are responsible for the recent crimes. The FBI has identified each suspect as “being members of the formally designated South American Theft Group.”
The alleged crime ring “targets extravagant homes in affluent neighborhoods in orchestrated home invasions occurring when the homes are vacant, employing technology to thwart alarm systems, and taking extensive precautions to avoid being identified on home security camera systems and by forensic analyses of crime scenes,” Nessel’s office said.
Officials say losses from recent break-ins fitting the pattern “measure in the millions of dollars,” as cash, safes, jewelry and other high-value items have been stolen from expensive homes.
Multiple law enforcement agencies believe the home invasions “are conducted by non-citizen temporary residents from countries in South America, who traveled to the United States and Michigan for the express purpose of conducting these crimes.”
Jeremy Martinez, 19, Ignacio Ruiz-Saldias, 29, and Tamara Ruiz-Saldias, 36, were all charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, and eight counts of second-degree home invasion, a 15-year felony.
All charges have been filed in the 52-3 District Court in Rochester. They were charged while in custody at the Hamilton County Jail in Indiana, just north of Indianapolis, where they face separate home invasion-related charges.
They are charged in connection to eight break-ins that took place between Feb. 3-11 in Ada Township, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe Farms, Rochester, and Rochester Hills.
Authorities say home invasions connected to this alleged crime ring continue throughout Southwest Michigan and Metro Detroit. The investigation remains ongoing.
“Home invasions don’t just threaten our property, they threaten our sense of security, and this ring has set entire communities on edge,” Nessel said, per a press release. “I am proud of the hard work by not just those in my Department, but by our county and local law enforcement partners on this effort.”
Bouchard said Nessel’s charges against the suspects is “a critical step for us to better protect our communities.”
The charges are part of two separate crime ring busts Nessel announced Monday. In a separate case, three Detroiters were charged with stealing over $200,000 worth of merchandise from Ulta and Lululemon stores across Metro Detroit.