Three men and two teenage boys, all Venezuelan migrants living in Chicago, are detained in connection with a $2 million armed robbery at an Indianapolis jewelry store, according to court filings. Indiana officials claim the operation is tied to the notorious Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua.
The juveniles, Emanuel David Gonzalez Mendez, 16, and Angel Jose Pinto Guerrero, 17, are charged as adults with armed robbery, criminal confinement, resisting law enforcement and unlawful possession of a firearm. Three adults are also charged with robbery: Oneiver Alfonso Sambrano Garcia, 20, and 31-year-olds Freibrth Adrian Jose Perreira and Jonnder David Mercedes Martinez. Federal detainers have been filed against all five.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to King Jewelers around 1 p.m. August 10 after three armed men entered the business, restrained the owner and manager with duct tape, and rounded up jewelry and money from the store. An initial inventory determined that the crew took 20 silver diamond necklaces, 20 silver diamond rings, 20 gold diamond necklaces, 20 gold diamond rings, and 60 gold and silver bracelets worth a total of $2 million along with $65,000 in cash.
The holdup crew loaded the proceeds into a stolen 2007 Acura bearing Illinois plates and drove to a nearby dollar store, where they switched to a gold 2009 Toyota Camry, also bearing Illinois plates, and drove away, according to the documents.
Police located the Camry using Flock cameras and drones, officials said, leading to a pursuit across three Indiana counties. The chase ended when an Indiana State Police trooper used a PIT maneuver to disable the Camry, causing it to crash, according to authorities. Five people got out of the wrecked car and ran, but police detained all of them. Officers allegedly found jewelry and cash taken from the store inside the Camry.
At least one of the detainees told investigators they were trying to get back to Chicago so they could get rid of the Camry and distribute the robbery proceeds, according to court filings. The documents say the three adults admitted to planning the robbery and described their involvement with a Venezuelan theft organization. Indiana officials have also said the five suspects are connected to Tren de Aragua.
Garcia allegedly served as the first getaway driver, telling investigators he had been offered $10,000 to drive Mendez, Guerrero and Perreira to the jewelry store, wait outside and then take them to the dollar store, according to the court records. Officials said he became “evasive” when investigators pressed him for additional details.
Martinez allegedly told police he was offered $60,000 to serve as the second getaway driver. He reportedly arrived in Indianapolis the night before the robbery, stayed at a suburban motel and waited with the Camry at the dollar store. Once the other four got into the Camry, they allegedly told Martinez to drive back to Chicago as quickly as possible, according to the court records.
Martinez told investigators that “all involved were connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua” and that he participated because of threats against him and his family, according to a court filing.
New Jersey police suspect Mendez and Guerrero were involved in a home invasion that targeted the owners of a jewelry store in June, according to court filings.
CWB found Chicago arrest records for only one of the three adults, Garcia, who has been arrested twice by Chicago police, listing a home address in the 5400 block of South Wells Street.
On July 17, officers arrested him at Monroe Harbor on charges of driving without being issued a license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and driving a vehicle without valid registration, according to a CPD report. Police said he was riding a Kawasaki moped without license plates.
Garcia was also arrested in the Loop last August after police said he was riding a bicycle on the sidewalk near Wabash Avenue and Lake Street while wearing a ski mask that covered his entire face. According to that CPD report, Garcia had no identification and gave officers conflicting information about his age and birth year, saying he was 17 while also claiming to have been born in 2005. Garcia failed to appear in court in that case, and Judge Joseph Gump imposed a $60 fine in his absence, according to court records.
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