Seven men face federal charges after authorities linked them with breaking into a Brinks semi-truck in Lebec in 2022 and stealing about $100 million in jewelry as it was being transported from near San Francisco to an upcoming jewelry show in Pasadena, authorities said.
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The jewelry heist is considered the largest in U.S. history, said Ciaran McEvoy, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Some of the jewelry was found while search warrants were served on Monday, June 16.
The truck contained 73 bags containing millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Two of the men were expected to make their initial federal court appearances Tuesday following recent arrests, according to federal authorities.
Six of the defendants were accused of following the Brinks truck from San Mateo for more than 300 miles to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles, from the evening of July 10, 2022 to the following morning, authorities said. They, along with others not named in the indictment, then allegedly stole 24 bags containing jewelry from the truck.
In the days that followed, five of the defendants allegedly deactivated cell phones they used during the heist.
The defendants are:
Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, of Pasadena,
Jazael Padilla Resto, 36, of Boyle Heights,
Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, 41, of Rialto,
Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, of Rampart Village in Los Angeles,
Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, of South Los Angeles,
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, of Upland, and,
Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Padilla Resto is currently in custody in Arizona serving a prison sentence for third-degree burglary with unlawful entry, McEvoy said. He was expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks.
The status of the other six men was not immediately known.
All but Ibarra were accused of participating on the night of the heist, McEvoy said. Mestanza, Lugo and Alban were accused of scouting the Brinks truck as it left the international jewelry store in San Mateo.
Some of the men had participated in heists of electronics in the months leading up to the jewelry heist, authorities said.
Mestanza, Padilla Resto, Lugo and Valencia were accused of stealing more than $240,000 in Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario on March 2, 2022, McEvoy said. They, along with Alban, then allegedly robbed a box truck driver of more than $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags, with one of the robbers brandishing a knife and threatening the driver.
More than three months later, the defendants tried unsuccessfully to steal from one truck at a Fontana rest stop by using a crowbar to break in, McEvoy said. However, a short time later, they stole more than $14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another shipment in Fontana, he said.
All seven men face two federal counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, and theft from interstate and foreign shipment in relation to the jewelry heist, McEvoy said.
Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia and Alban face two additional charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of interference with commerce by robbery and additional counts of theft from interstate and foreign shipment, he said.
If convicted of the additional charges the five men would face statutory maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge. All seven defendants would face sentences of 10 years for each theft charge and five years for each theft conspiracy charge if convicted.
