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Theft ring targeted Braintree home with hidden camera before burglary, police say
Police said the three suspects appear to have ties to an international burglary ring that targets prospective victims with extensive surveillance techniques.
A hidden camera discovered near a burglarized home in Braintree led to the arrests of three people who are apparently connected to an international theft ring, according to police.
The three individuals appear to have ties to a South American Theft Group, a type of organized crime ring known to use extensive surveillance, GPS, and surreptitious video feeds to establish prospective victims’ behavioral patterns, the Braintree Police Department said in a press release.
Detectives launched their investigation following a June 20 burglary in Braintree’s Messina Woods neighborhood, where two suspects allegedly spent hours inside an empty home and fled when an alarm sounded. Two weeks later, an eagle-eyed neighbor found a wireless camera hidden in the bushes across from the burgled home, police said.
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The camera was camouflaged with leaves, and detectives believed it was installed prior to the burglary, according to the release. Believing another break-in was imminent, police said they developed a surveillance plan.
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On Thursday evening, detectives watched as a man dressed as a landscaper emerged from the victim’s yard and walked a “circuitous route” back to a parked Audi SUV that bore Florida plates, according to the release. The detectives tracked the SUV as it drove out of Braintree, only to discover the same vehicle parked near the Messina Woods neighborhood just after 10:30 p.m.
A masked man dressed in all black exited the SUV with a backpack, ducking into the wood line next to Messina Woods and re-appearing in the victim’s yard, according to police. Officers surrounded the SUV and arrested the two women inside, but the man allegedly ran away, “leading to a foot pursuit,” police said. Authorities eventually took the man into custody following “a significant struggle,” according to the release.
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Police identified the individuals as Carlos Ocampo-Carrillo, 47, and Diana Maria Alvarado-Rosano, 34, both of Flushing, New York, and Lizbeth Hernandez-Gantiva, 23, of New York City.
All three are facing charges of conspiracy and possession of burglarious tools. Ocampo-Carrillo, who allegedly has a history of criminal activity in California and New York, is also charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, carrying a dangerous weapon, and breaking and entering. Alvarado-Rosano is facing an additional charge of providing false information following arrest.
The three individuals were arraigned in Quincy District Court, according to police. A lawyer for Hernandez-Gantiva declined to comment on the charges Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether Ocampo-Carrillo or Alvarado-Rosano had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
All three are Colombian citizens and may also face federal immigration charges, police said.
“The Braintree Police Department would like to commend the detectives involved in this case for their professionalism, diligence, and dedication to duty,” Braintree Chief of Police Timothy Cohoon said in a statement. “They thwarted another invasive crime in our community by their dogged determination.”
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