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Sheriff wants Trump’s help with South American burglary gangs as holiday travel begins

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Sheriff wants Trump’s help with South American burglary gangs as holiday travel begins

Novi — Metro Detroit law enforcement officials are warning residents who won’t be home for the holidays to take precautions against being victimized by South American burglary gangs that have been targeting homes in the region for several years.

Novi police officers this month arrested a Chilean national who was an alleged member of one of the burglary gangs that authorities said have looted multiple upscale homes in Metro Detroit and nationwide in recent years. Police said gang members enter the United States from Chili and other South American countries through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program that allows citizens from 41 countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without visas.

Novi Director of Public Safety Erick Zinser said he believes the gangs are still lurking in Oakland County, where they’ve burglarized homes in several communities in the past few years, including Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester and Rochester Hills. In the weeks leading up to last month’s arrest, South American gangs pulled off four burglaries in Novi, police said.

The gangs have surfaced elsewhere in Michigan and across the United States, including Missouri and Kansas, where police last month said the homes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were burglarized by the crews that are dubbed “tourist criminals.”

“Are they still hanging around? That’s the million-dollar question,” Zinser said. “All the intelligence we have tells us they probably are.”

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who also is vice president of the Major County Sheriffs of America, said he plans to lobby President-elect Donald Trump’s administration to close the visa waiver program after the Republican is sworn in as president Jan. 20.

As vice president of the national group, Bouchard said he’s unsuccessfully asked Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration to shut down the program, which police said is abused by the burglary gang members who stay beyond the 90 days, using fake identification cards that are provided by colleagues who are already in the United States.

“The waiver program can be changed with the stroke of a pen,” Bouchard said. “Changing the program wouldn’t eliminate visitors from Chile — they can still come through the traditional visa program — but that comes with a higher level of security than the visa waiver program does.

“When you’ve got 100% of the people we’ve caught for high-end burglaries with the same MO … in our business, we call that a clue,” Bouchard said. “We want people to visit our country through traditional visas, but the fact is, some people are using this waiver program to come here and commit crimes.

“Hopefully now, we’ll get some action out of the federal government,” Bouchard said.

The Trump-Vance transition team didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment.

Arrests, escapes

Bouchard, a Republican, and Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last year formed the Southeast Michigan Collaborate, Arrest and Prosecute, or SEMCAP, which is made up of federal and local law enforcement agencies, to combat what are designated as South American Theft Groups.

SEMCAP last year arrested three Chileans who were charged in connection with a series of home invasions across Oakland, Wayne and Kent counties. Jeremy Martinez, Ignacio Ruiz-Saldias and Tamara Ruiz-Saldias, who were charged with multiple Michigan burglaries, will be tried locally, although they will first serve the remainder of the two-year sentences they were given after pleading guilty to a series of burglaries of high-end homes in Indiana.

Police said they’re able to connect the crimes to the group because of the gangs’ military-like tactics that include dressing in camouflage clothing while casing luxury homes, sometimes for weeks, and using electronics to jam alarm systems. They steal cash, jewelry and expensive purses, often breaking into safes, police said.

“The intelligence tells us that a lot of people who have gone through the visa waiver program in Chile came from Venezuela,” Bouchard said. “They get a false ID, get into the visa waiver program and then come here to commit crimes. We’ve also had gangs from other countries, but the ones who have really been hammering us have been the Chilean gangs.

“We’re part of a national intelligence group, and estimates are that well over 100 teams of four to six people are operating at any given moment in this country,” Bouchard said. “They’ll hammer a community and move on. We had a downtick here for a while, but then I heard from a colleague in Arizona, and they were getting destroyed. They even hit some NFL players, probably not because they’re NFL players, but because they fit the target. We’ve had auto executives and others targeted here.

“At one point, these gangs were taking $1 million a week just out of Oakland County,” Bouchard said. “Imagine what that is nationwide.”

In Novi, Vania Herrera Valdes, a Chilean national, was charged last month in 52-1 District Court with second-degree home invasion, a 15-year felony, and resisting arrest, a two-year felony, after police said the 21-year-old was arrested following a Dec. 2 home invasion.

Chief Zinser said extra patrols were already deployed after the gangs had hit four Novi homes since Halloween. When a man called police to say his security cameras showed people trying to break into his house, officers were able to get to the address before the suspects had left the scene.

“We had been putting out the word for residents to be vigilant, and the man was monitoring his video camera,” Zinser said. “Our officers were already patrolling the area and were able to get to the home just as (the gang members) were pulling out of the driveway.”

After the van left the house on Equestrian Trail near Eight Mile and Beck roads, officers pulled over the white van with out-of-state license plates, but the driver sped off and a short pursuit ensued, police said. The van eventually stopped, and four people jumped out and bolted away, the Novi police chief said.

“We caught the woman but not the other three,” Zinser said.

Multiple agencies looked for the three alleged burglars to no avail, police said.

Valdes, whose bond was set at $100,000, is scheduled for a Jan. 22 preliminary examination before 52-1 District Judge David Law. Her attorney, Richard T. Taylor, did not immediately return a Friday request for comment.

‘Only a matter of time’

Before Chile was added to the ESTA program in 2014, the nation entered an “Agreement on Enhancing Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Serious Crime,” in which Chilean officials pledged to share information with American authorities to help prevent criminals from entering the U.S.

U.S. officials should pressure the Chilean government to do something about the break-in gangs, Bouchard said.

“Someone’s training and preparing these gangs in Chile, and the Chilean government says they want to work with our country, so they need to find the training camps,” Bouchard said. “We’ve made some arrests, but these gangs operate with great efficiency, and they’ve just been hammering us.”

In August, four Chilean nationals were charged in Oakland County with armed robberies earlier that month of the MJ Diamonds store at the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills and the Macy’s store at Oakland Mall in Troy. Bouchard said all four defendants had abused the visa system.

The South American gangs last year hit multiple homes in Bloomfield Township. Though the community hasn’t been targeted in recent months, police aren’t relaxing their guard, Officer Nick Soley said.

“Oh, we know they’re still operating in Oakland County, although not necessarily in Bloomfield Township recently. But especially during the holidays, we’re telling people to take precautions if they’re going to be away from home,” Soley said.

Bloomfield Township, Novi and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office are among the Metro Detroit law enforcement agencies that offer to send officers, deputies or volunteers to people’s homes while they’re on vacation.

The Oakland County sheriff said alert neighbors are a big help to law enforcement.

“Neighbors are the ones who will know if there’s something in the area that doesn’t look quite right, and we’re asking them to call us,” Bouchard said. “We’d rather respond to 100 nothings than miss the real deal.”

For people who are traveling, Soley suggested: “make the house seem like it’s occupied.”

“Use timers for lights, stop the mail, and maybe have someone you trust to go there once in a while to make it look like people are coming or going,” he added. “Also, if you have a trusted neighbor, ask them to call police if they see anything suspicious.”

Bouchard suggested homeowners replace electronic locks and other gear with manual devices.

“If you can, change your components to hardware because the Chileans have been jamming wireless systems,” he said.

While offering advice to residents, Soley said police are doing what they can to stave off another round of burglaries.

“On our end, we’ve got extra patrols in the target-rich areas, and we’re just crossing our fingers,” Soley said. “The MO of these gangs has been to hit one place, leave for a while and then return. So we know it’s probably only a matter of time before they come back.”

ghunter@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2134

@GeorgeHunter_DN

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