Detectives with the Irvine Police Department say they’ve arrested five persons in connection with a home burglary in Great Park on Easter Sunday, and they believe the gang is responsible for at least five burglaries across Southern California.
Home security cameras captured the robbers in action. They disguised themselves as delivery workers.
On Friday, Guolin Wang remained in shock following the looting and burglary of his Great Park home on Easter Sunday.
They took away documents, credit cards, and property worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“I never imagined that something like this would happen to my family.” I have no idea why they came to our house,” Wang explained.
During a press conference Friday, Irvine police stated that the family could have been targeted by a transnational organized crime group.
Surveillance video shows a woman knocking on the door at 1:30 p.m. on Easter when the family was out for breakfast. A white SUV is parked out front.
Minutes later, sensors alerted Wang that someone had entered his home through a side window. Wang claims to have phoned the police at that point.
Then, a man dressed as an Amazon delivery worker approaches the door, masked and gloved. By 1:50 p.m., 20 minutes after the initial door knock, three males rush out of the front door with a backpack and suitcase, get into the same white SUV, and drive away before authorities arrive.
Irvine Chief of Police Michael Kent stated that after constructing a containment zone, an officer stopped a car he deemed suspicious.
“The driver claimed to be a food delivery driver, but after a thorough investigation, it was determined that his story was not true,” Kent informed me. “We arrested the driver for traffic violations and recovered evidence from the vehicle.”
Body cam video captured the arrests at a Fontana park on Thursday, following nearly a month of police effort. Police have apprehended four males and a lady from Colombia.
Irvine Police Detective Sgt. Adam Pettinger described them as a “professional burglary group.”
After several weeks of surveillance, police discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in suspected stolen property after serving search warrants at two homes and a storage unit in Fontana and Colton.
“Cash, jewelry, designer handbags, and four guns, three of which have already been determined to have been stolen,” according to Pettinger”
According to investigators, the goods discovered included property stolen from Wang’s residence.
“I was assuming that one of the selling points for this Irvine community is its safety, correct? It was ranked as the safest city in the United States, but I never imagined such things could occur,” Wang remarked.
Detectives believe the same group of suspects is involved in another burglary captured on surveillance tape in early April, and the crew could be responsible for up to five crimes across Southern California.
The Orange County Jail placed the five suspects on a variety of offenses, including burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, and drug possession.
