Prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against nine alleged members of a residential burglary crew accused of breaking into 30 San Diego County homes over a four-month span earlier this year.
The bulk of the break-ins targeted homes in the neighborhoods of Mira Mesa, Rancho Penasquitos, and Carmel Valley, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, resulting in an estimated total loss of around $700,000 to the victims.
While prosecutors said 30 homes were burglarized locally, the crew is allegedly responsible for 55 home burglaries total in California and Nevada. Other Southern California burglaries occurred in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties.
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Stephan described the defendants as a well-organized crew that donned masks and gloves and operated in groups of at least three people during each break-in. Typically, the rear sliding glass windows of the homes would be broken out and the burglars would slip inside, seeking safes for valuables like cash, jewelry, expensive designer items, and firearms.
Stephan said some of the break-ins happened while the residents were home.
"The burglaries put these neighborhoods on edge," Stephan said. "They caused a great deal of pain and left residents with the anxiety of wondering if they were next."
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The defendants, who range in age from 18 to 24 years old, are facing charges of first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. They face between around eight years and 35 years to life in state prison if convicted.
All but one of the defendants were taken into custody last week during a law enforcement operation conducted in Los Angeles and Riverside counties.
Stephan said that though the identities of the burglars were concealed through their use of gloves and masks, law enforcement tracked license plates, social media accounts and cellphones as part of their investigation into identifying members of the burglary ring.
