Remache-Diaz, Loaiza-Alvarez and Vinueza-Bueno reportedly entered the U.S. on travel visas and set up operations with Diaz-Remache in California. The group then traveled to other states — including Ohio, Virginia and Maryland — to steal jewelry and Apple products from delivery trucks at shopping centers, according to a federal indictment.
“In stealing these interstate shipments, one or more members of the group often distracted the delivery driver while the others broke into the delivery truck and removed portions of its cargo,” court documents read. “One or more members of the group often served as a lookout for police and private security.”
The men used cell phones and Bluetooth technology to communicate with each other.
The group would repackage the stolen items and ship them to California to be resold on the international black market, according to the indictment.
“This office will seek to hold accountable anyone stealing from and endangering the hard-working men and women who deliver our goods and mail. Whether it be UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, or any other deliverer, we will not tolerate attacks against individuals simply doing their jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.
In September the group was arrested by Beavercreek police while officers were surveilling delivery vehicles near the Mall at Fairfield Commons. The four men were in two vehicles that matched the suspect vehicles in a theft from a FedEx truck at The Greene on Sept. 19.
The group was staying in an Airbnb in Centerville when the theft occurred, according to court records.
Three hundred Apple watches worth $157,000 were stolen from the delivery truck during the Sept. 19 incident, according to Fairborn Municipal Court records.
Beavercreek police Capt. Scott Molnar previously said the department was investigating similar cases.
“Our department has had four cases of thefts or attempted thefts with this same MO in the past month,” he said in September. “We have been in touch with other agencies in Ohio and have confirmed that the same individuals we arrested were involved in a similar theft in Maryland.”
Diaz-Remache assisted in the theft of approximately $300,000 in diamonds and other jewelry from a UPS truck in Rockville, Maryland, in January, according to federal court records. Remache-Diaz reportedly was involved in the theft of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds in Fairfax, Virginia, in August.
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