Four Colombian nationals have been sentenced to federal prison after admitting they were part of a burglary ring that specifically targeted Asian American small business owners in Washington and Oregon, federal prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, the group traveled from California and used online research to identify Asian-owned businesses before surveilling the owners’ homes. Investigators said they stayed in short-term rentals, including one in Auburn, Washington while planning the burglaries.
Prosecutors said the men used commercial-grade Wi-Fi signal jammers, conducted countersurveillance and stayed in constant contact through group phone calls before breaking into homes by shattering glass doors. They stole cash, jewelry, designer handbags, travel documents and other valuables before packaging the items for transport back to California and Colombia.
The four men—Derinson Martinez-Grandas, 34; Jhon Alexander Quintero, 45; Steven Alexander Quiroga-Solano, 28; and William Estiven Rodriguez-Gaviria, 27—pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen goods across state lines.
They received federal prison sentences ranging from 12 months and one day to 21 months, followed by three years of supervised release. They also were sentenced in related state burglary cases.
Investigators said a search of the group’s rental home in Eugene, Oregon, uncovered suspected stolen property, more than a dozen cellphones, commercial-grade Wi-Fi signal jammers and evidence of money transfers to Bogotá, Colombia. Authorities also found messages, maps and surveillance notes on the defendants’ phones that prosecutors said documented how the group selected and tracked potential victims.
The investigation also uncovered several connections to Washington. Prosecutors said Martinez-Grandas rented the group’s Auburn home base, while Quintero researched the value of jewelry after an Auburn burglary. Court documents also say Quiroga-Solano searched for Chinese restaurants before the group burglarized the home of a family that owned one.
The FBI and Eugene Police Department led the investigation, with help from the Auburn, Salem and Gresham police departments.
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