Atherton Police Chief Warns Of Chilean Gangs Targeting Local Homes
ATHERTON (CBS SF) -- At least six burglaries of wealthy Atherton homes in January have been linked to Chilean gang members who have been carrying out a crime spree stretching from Northern California to as far south as San Diego County.
Atherton Chief of Police Steven McCulley posted a warning to local residents on his agency's website to be extra careful.
"Of the eight burglaries this month, we suspect six were committed by organized Chilean gang members operating out of the Los Angeles area," McCulley posted. "Chilean gang member burglaries have been a problem throughout San Mateo County and nationwide."
McCulley said his department was working with both the FBI and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center tracking the organized burglary ring.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, a week ago about $50,000 worth of jewelry and other items were stolen from an Atherton home on the first block of Lilac Drive. A resident reported that someone smashed a glass door at the back of their home and escaped with jewelry and other items.
"Their MO is to get into the master bedroom," McCulley told the paper. "They do a glass break so they don't trip any sensors, and most people don't have option alarms near the master bedroom. They've been successful with that MO."
San Diego County Sheriff's Detective Justin Cole told CBS 8 in San Diego that the gang members are responsible for a variety of crimes.
"The intelligence says they're primarily Chilean nationals, they're coming here on a tourist visa program," Cole told the station. "They're involved in all types of crime, not just residential burglaries. They do pickpocket crime, break into vehicles, steal credit cards, anything they can do to make as much money as possible before they go back."
The group is known to authorities as the South American Theft Group. In Southern California, they have been linked to burglaries and other crimes in Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar and Chula Vista.
"It is not the same four people, there are multiple groups that travel all across the United States," Cole told CBS 8. "So the burglary crew that hit us two months ago was not the same (one) that hit us last month, and probably won't be the same that hits us next month."