6 California residents suspected of traveling to Colorado to steal construction equipment
DENVER - Six California residents have been charged with a wide range of crimes after they targeted 39 construction sites, stealing more than $1.1 million in construction property.
Since 2020, the six suspects allegedly traveled from California to Colorado multiple times, targeting construction sites from Fort Collins all the way down to Douglas County.
According to prosecutors in Boulder County, where the six have been charged, the 39 construction sites were in 13 cities and five different counties.
The suspects have been identified as Carlos Campos, Samuel Arevalo Aguilar, Oscar Herrera, Francisco Agueta, Ricardo Quevedo Rios, and Bayron Moreno Gomez. Campos is facing 76 criminal counts, including multiple counts of burglary, theft, criminal mischief, and organized crime.
The thieves allegedly went on to target several housing and school construction sites.
Poudre School District fell victim at Wellington Middle-High School. There, according to LCSO, the suspects broke into 14 storage containers on the northern Colorado property. The construction company reported losses of more than $136,000 in that burglary alone.
To the southeast of PSD's property, Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Colorado was also targeted. Construction crews at the new charter school reported losses of $43,200 in May of 2021.
The counties impacted by the ring were Boulder County, Jefferson County, Larimer County, Douglas County and Weld County.
Investigators from multiple agencies worked together to investigate the thefts.
"This crime ring traveled to Colorado for the purpose of breaking into construction sites and stealing equipment. Their actions had an incredibly disruptive impact on the construction companies as well as the owners of the sites," Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a written statement. "For their conduct, these defendants will face serious consequences. I want to personally thank the detectives and prosecutors who poured a tremendous amount of work into this massive investigation. They, along with our partners, have brought this crime ring to a halt."
