Nassau Police: 3 arrested for $1 million jewelry heist
MINEOLA, N.Y. - Three men are under arrest in a jewelry heist on Long Island Monday morning, and Nassau County police are blaming an infamous South American theft ring.
From targeting high-end homes around the nation, police say the thieves have now changed their approach.
Burglars pried open a back door of Manhasset Jewelers, and - with 18 security cameras rolling - emptied jewelry cases, driving off with hundreds of rings, bracelets, and designer handbags.
Police quickly recognized a troubling pattern.
"All defendants are part of the South American theft group," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
A theft group that has targeted the Long Island North Shore and wealthy communities nationwide. Nassau police identified three men, all from Chile, staying at an Airbnb in Queens. Two overstayed visas. Two of them had multiple out-of-state prior arrests.
"Asylum status issued as pending, and he is given a court date two years from now. The defendant had an active arrest warrant in Long Beach, California for burglary, he was released, R.O.R., and told to get an ankle bracelet, and did not show up," Ryder said. "They have now walked out of our custody and are back out on the streets again in Nassau County."
Nassau police's burglary pattern squad has been tracking the the group since 2017, and say cells of thieves arrive in the country and immediately assume a new identity.
"One you get arrested in that area, you go to whole another area, assume another ID," Det. Sgt. Jeffrey Raymond said. "It's never-ending until someone holds them and identifies who these individuals are."
Nassau officials say the problem - South American theft rings - is not getting better. They've just changed their M.O. from residential burglaries to commercial, because changes to bail reform now allow a suspect to be jailed while awaiting trial.
"Our residential burglaries are actually down from last year. That's because of the work of the men behind me and the law changed. Commercial burglaries are up 30%," Ryder said.
"This is what we have been talking about on and on, and one, there are people coming through our borders, we don't know who they are. Many of them are part of organized crime structure," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. "Our federal government has to get serious about solving a debacle that is devastating communities across the United States."
"There is no doubt in my mind that these individuals will migrate somewhere else and continue doing their crime spree," Raymond said.
More than $100,000 in jewels stolen. It would have been far more, but the thieves didn't realize much of what they got were not real diamonds.
The store owner praised police, adding he must now add a steel door to his elaborate security system.