SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — These aren't your average burglars.
Court documents obtained by 12News claim four men who are part of a Chilean National Crime Group are responsible for stealing more than a million dollars worth of valuables from several homes in the Valley.
Scottsdale police investigators say the suspects targeted high-value homes in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Fountain Hills. Close to $900,000 was taken from the Scottsdale area alone, said Scottsdale Police Officer Aaron Bolin. The majority of burglaries were in gated communities.
"To have an organized group, like this is pretty rare," Bolin said.
Documents show the crime syndicate operated in Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada, and Utah. The first known burglary happening in Arizona occurred last March in a gated community. Mike Larson and his wife had left their Scottsdale home for just a few hours.
“We were six houses down," Larson said. "It was during the NCAA basketball tournament.”
They locked their doors and have a home security system. However, Larson said he forgot his phone that night.
“If I had it on me, I’d do something quicker,” he said.
When they returned everything seemed normal until they walked into their bedroom. Larson says all the drawers were open, jewelry boxes were thrown on the bed, and someone had rummaged through their closet.
"My wife says, 'Oh my God we’ve been robbed,'" Larson recalled.
Both noticed on the carpet were shards of glass. Following the trail led them to their back glass door that had been broken. The door located right next to their at home security camera.
The video shows what appears to be two men walking into the home. The cracking of glass can be heard as they make their way to the Larson bedroom.
“You could see the eyes and the nose but you couldn’t get the full face,” Larson says.
It only took 12 minutes for them to take about $25,000 in cash and jewelry before they exited the way they entered.
“They didn’t vandalize the house or do anything else," Larson said. "They knew what they wanted.”
Larson also noticed that on their backyard table was a rock covered in glass. Believing that's what the burglars used to break into the home.
A month after the Larson home was hit, there was another reported burglary in the same area that was also caught on home security video. Court documents reveal the suspects, in this case, were in the same clothes seen in the Larson security footage.
The homeowner did not want to speak with 12News on camera but gave permission to show the video.
You can see two men enter the home through a broken glass door as the home alarm sounds. Unfazed, they once again move directly toward the master bedroom. The homeowner says their safe was taken. The next day as they were looking in their backyard, they found that safe pried open with everything still inside.
On their backyard table was also a rock they believe was used to break open the glass back door.
Similar burglaries continued for two months. Then in May, Bolin says detectives saw the burglars in action. Getting dropped off on an open road in the same area of Scottsdale targeted previously. Investigators watched as the suspects hopped over a wall into the backyard of the home.
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"Once they were in that backyard, they make entry into either a rear window or Arcadia door or other glass door or window, usually by smashing it with something that was found in that yard," Bolin said.
Court documents claim detectives watched two homes get burglarized that night. They followed all four suspects in one car and pulled them over on the I-10 as they headed west. Those same documents reveal the suspects denied any involvement in the burglaries. However, an officer noticed one of them had jewelry in their front pocket and glass on their clothing.
The suspects are now facing several counts of burglary and theft. Online records show that as of Tuesday three of them have made a plea agreement with the courts. At this time, one of the suspects has entered a plea of not guilty and is awaiting a trial that is scheduled for the summer.
Even though it's been about a year later, Larson and his wife say they are forever changed by what happened inside their home.
“You don’t feel as secure," Larson said. "When someone goes through all your personal things and is in your house and violates your privacy and security, it changes you.”
The Larsons want others to know this can happen to anyone.
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