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9 suspects arrested for string of apartment burglaries
Nine people are now behind bars after being accused of traveling from Houston to Plano to commit a string of apartment burglaries.
PLANO, Texas - Nine people are now behind bars after being accused of traveling from Houston to Plano to commit a string of apartment burglaries.
Plano police said detectives noticed a pattern while following up on several burglaries that happened in August.
Police say a group of eight young men and one young woman from the Houston area targeted apartment complexes in a string of burglaries since Aug. 16. In all, police say the group broke into at least six apartments.
They were caught this week right after allegedly committing another crime.
According to police documents, the first burglary happened on Aug. 16 at the Riachi One21 Apartments.
Ten days later on Aug. 26, another burglary was reported at the same apartment complex.
That same day, two more burglaries were reported at a different apartment complex.
In every case, the door was pried open, and valuable items were stolen.
There was another similarity to each crime. All of the victims were of South Asian and Indian descent. But police don’t have evidence race played a direct role in why certain victims were targeted.
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We believe they’re targeting jewelry. It just so happens the victims were of Asian descent," said Plano Officer Jennifer Chapman. "It’s possible that’s another reason why they were targeted. We haven’t confirmed that there’s just so many other victims.
Police were able to view surveillance video and got a description of the suspect’s vehicles.
Then on Tuesday, police got a tip that the cars would be in the Plano area.
"They found it and set up on it and watched over it for a while," Chapman said.
Police tracked the group to the Hunter Glen Apartments, where they were caught committing at least two more burglaries. They were later stopped, and the group was arrested.
"It’s a big deal for our detectives, it’s a big deal for our patrol officers, and it’s a big deal for our community," Chapman said.
Police arrested the nine suspects as soon as they left the complex and drove to another one nearby. They found pry bars and stolen jewelry in their two cars.
Leonayves Azuaje, Melvin Alvarado, Keiry Burgos, Rudy Castro, Sergio Cardenas, Kevin Ventura, Yader Carazo, Angel Oviedo, and Jeffrey Zelay are now facing charges of burglary and engaging in organized crime.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the group is urged to call Plano PD’s burglary tip line at 972-941-5555.