Montco detectives dismantled a theft ring that used cameras, Wi-Fi jammers to burglarize 13 homes
The group, prosecutors said, specifically targeted Asian families that owned businesses in the region, under the belief that they would have stockpiles of cash in their residences.
A group of Colombian nationals utilized remote cell phone cameras, illegal Wi-Fi jammers, and phony food deliveries to monitor and break into 13 homes in Southeastern Pennsylvania last year, according to Montgomery County officials.
Their crimes, prosecutors wrote in court documents, were far from random — each of the break-ins came after meticulous research, surveillance, and planning. And they netted more than $300,000 in stolen cash, jewelry, and luxury items.
The 10 people police say are connected to the group conducted their raids in Chester, Montgomery, and surrounding counties with precision. They coordinated via text message, swapped stolen license plates on their vehicles to evade detection, and off-loaded their pilfered jewelry to fences in New York City almost immediately.
Prosecutors in Norristown unveiled the group’s operations this month in court as four of its members, including its ringleader, pleaded guilty to racketeering, theft, and related crimes, and were sentenced to state prison for the burglaries at homes in Lower Merion, Abington, West Goshen, and other towns.
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Roger Pinilla-Pardo, 22, whom coconspirators called “Boss” in text messages, was sentenced to 3½ to 10 years in state prison. The resident of Queens, N.Y., dictated how much to sell the stolen goods for, approving every sale via text message, prosecutors wrote in the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
Juan Meneses-Munoz, 19, Misael Angel Sanchez, 52, and Juan Manuel Guerrero Acosta, 26, all of Queens, were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison for helping to carry out the burglaries, which occurred between July and December 2024.
Attorneys for the four men did not immediately return calls for comment.
Three other alleged members of the ring are in custody, awaiting trial, and four others are currently being sought by police.
The group was first identified with the help of cell phone tracking data, through which detectives found that the same phones were present at multiple burglaries.
In December, an alleged member of the ring, Randall Jeremy Aldana Cruz, was pulled over in Delaware County, the affidavit said. Inside the BMW he was driving, detectives found two radios, a Wi-Fi jammer, and burglary tools, the affidavit said.
Aldana Cruz, 20, is awaiting trial in Montgomery County on burglary and related charges, court records show.
Data from Aldana Cruz’s cell phone allegedly showed he was on his way to target a home in Media when he was taken into custody.
His phone also illustrated to detectives how the ring had carried out the burglaries.
The group, prosecutors said, specifically targeted Asian families that owned businesses in the region, under the belief that they would have stockpiles of cash in their residences.
Using publicly available tax-assessment data, the group would identify the families that owned businesses in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, and would track the families to their personal residences.
There, the group would use cell phones as makeshift surveillance cameras, hiding them in shrubbery or grass. One homeowner, in Allentown, thwarted a potential robbery by discovering one of these hidden cameras and turning it over to police, the affidavit said.
Other times, members of the group would pose as food-delivery drivers and knock on the victim’s door, claiming they had gotten the wrong address.
Prosecutors said the group is also tied to burglaries in other parts of the country, including Kentucky and North Jersey.