Latest news with #SimiValley
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Four Suspects Arrested in $3 Million Heist at a Simi Valley Jewelry Store
Four Suspects Arrested in $3 Million Heist at a Simi Valley Jewelry Store originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Four suspects, allegedly tied to a South American crime ring, were arrested and charged Friday for the theft of over $3 million worth of property from 5 Star Jewelry & Watch Repair in Simi Valley. Each defendant has been charged with four felony counts—two counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and two counts of conspiracy to receive stolen property– for the May 25 heist of the family-owned store. Due to newly-voted proposition 36, the defendants will also face special allegations of excessive loss over $3 million, and theft or damage in concert with others, according to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko's news footage captured three individuals in Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee shop, a store that shares a wall with 5 Star Jewelry, five days prior to the theft. Five days later, the suspects, described by police as a 'sophisticated burglary crew,' cut through the shared wall and entered the jewelry store where they allegedly broke into a safe and stole jewelry, cash, and other unspecified items. 'They were sophisticated and skilled professionals who used counter surveillance measures, a collapsible ladder, rope, and power tools to cut through a roof, tunnel into a wall, and breach a safe to take millions in watches, jewelry, cash and other merchandise,' Nasarenko said during the news of the items and cash have been recovered by the Simi Valley Police Department. Police report that this burglary crew may be connected to other robberies, but cannot provide further details, according to CBS News. The defendants are scheduled for an early disposition conference at Ventura County Superior Court on June 23 at 1:30 p.m. A preliminary hearing is set for June 26. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
4 Chilean nationals arrested in $3 million Southern California jewelry heist
Four members of a burglary crew were arrested in connection with a $3 million jewelry store heist in Ventura County. The suspects, all Chilean nationals, were identified by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office as: Heidy Nickolt Trujillo, 25 Camilo Antonio Aguliar Lara, 31 Sergio Andres Meji-Machuca, 27 Manuel David Ibarra, 37 Beginning in May, the burglary crew is accused of a scheme targeting 5 Star Jewelry & Watch repair, a family-owned business on Cochran Street in Simi Valley. On May 20, three suspects arrived at the store in a white Volvo SUV, where two people conducted surveillance and peered into the store through the front window. They entered Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee shop next door to assess the location of any surveillance cameras. They also allegedly inspected the walls that adjoin the jewelry store. On May 25, the crew returned to the shopping plaza and brought a ladder and rope with them. The ladder was placed against the coffee shop's exterior as the thieves cut through the roof to gain entry, authorities said. They drilled a hole through a shared wall between the coffee and jewelry shop to access the store's safe. One suspect had also spray-painted a surveillance camera to cover up the break-in. The group ransacked the jewelry store and escaped with over $3 million worth of jewelry, watches, cash and valuables, prosecutors said. They fled the area and transported the stolen jewelry to a home in L.A. County. The costly theft had devastated the family that owned the store. Owner Jonathan Youssef said that 25 years ago, his father had built the business from the ground up and had planned on retiring soon before losing everything they owned. On June 10, the four suspects were arrested. Some of them were reportedly found wearing the stolen items. A stolen firearm was also located. They were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and two counts of conspiracy to receive stolen property. These were not teenagers burglarizing a local business to score quick cash,' Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said during a June 13 news conference. 'They were sophisticated and skilled professionals who used counter-surveillance measures, a collapsible ladder, rope, and power tools to cut through a roof, tunnel into a wall, and breach a safe to take millions in watches, jewelry, cash and other merchandise.' Authorities said there may be additional cases connected with the group, but no further details were provided on those incidents. All four suspects are being held on $100,000 bail. If convicted as charged, they could face six to nine years in prison. They are scheduled for an early disposition conference in Ventura County Superior Court on June 23. A preliminary hearing is set for June 26. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
13-06-2025
- CBS News
Simi Valley police bust sophisticated burglary crew, allegedly tied to $3 million jewelry store heist
The Simi Valley Police Department announced the bust of a sophisticated burglary crew on Friday, responsible for allegedly stealing more than $3 million worth of property from a Simi Valley jewelry store last month. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said four suspects allegedly connected to the burglary, ranging in age from 25 to 37 years old, pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday to felony charges of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and conspiracy to receive stolen property. "These were not teenagers burglarizing a local business to score quick cash," Nasarenko said. "Rather, they were sophisticated and skilled professionals who used countersurveillance measures, a collapsable ladder, rope, and power tools to cut through a roof, tunnel through a wall, breach a safe – to take millions in watches, jewelry, cash and other merchandise." Simi Valley Police Department Chief Steve Shorts said at Friday's news conference that the suspects are allegedly tied to a South American theft group, a network known for committing organized and targeted commercial burglaries. "All suspects are Chilean nationals who have been in California for an undetermined amount of time," he said. On May 25 around 11:30 p.m., the suspects allegedly entered the adjoining business of 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair through its roof. Shorts said they then tunneled their way through a shared wall into the jewelry store and spray-painted the surveillance cameras once inside the store. A safe containing approximately $3.5 million in cash, high-end watches, and precious jewelry was stolen. The day before, on May 24, Shorts described what could have been a practice run for the suspects, as they used similar tactics to break into Simi Jewelers & Pawnbrokers, but nothing was stolen. Shorts said detectives also located surveillance footage from the shopping plaza where 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair is located that showed the suspects allegedly scouting the site five days before the burglary occurred. Through coordinated efforts with local, state, and federal agencies, detectives used surveillance footage, license plate reader data and forensic review of digital evidence to identify the suspects. On June 10, police arrested Sergio Machuca, 28, Manuel Ibarra, 37, Camilo Lara, 32, and Heidy Trujillo, 25, all San Fernando Valley residents. "Some … were actually carrying the stolen merchandise in multiple bags from the jewelry store at the time of their arrest, while others were literally wearing the stolen jewelry," Nasarenko said. During the arrests and subsequent Canoga Park search warrant, detectives recovered large amounts of jewelry, cash, and designer watches, confirmed to be items from the Simi Valley jewelry store, and its adjoining candy shop business. There may be additional cases connected to this group, but police could not provide further details. "But believe me, that is being examined by outside agencies," Shorts said. All four suspects remain jailed on $100,000 bail.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man convicted of violent stabbing attack at Ventura County hiking trail
A man was convicted after a stabbing attack at a Ventura County hiking trail left a person hospitalized. On July 9, 2020, the victim was hiking with a friend at the Simi Valley Cross trail when they encountered two men walking uphill, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. As the two parties passed each other, the suspect, Alfredo Vasquez, 25, of Moorpark, asked the victim, 'Where you from?' Prosecutors said the question was a 'common gang challenge.' When the victim responded, Vasquez ran at him with a knife. During the violent altercation, Vasquez stabbed the victim twice in the chest and slashed his forearm, leaving him with serious injuries. The victim managed to escape by running down the trail and into a nearby neighborhood, where he knocked on a stranger's door for help. He was taken to the hospital where he received multiple staples for his wounds. The injuries left permanent scarring, authorities said. The suspect had fled the area. While investigating, Simi Valley police detectives found two pieces of key evidence — the victim's T-shirt, which was stained with Vasquez's blood, and another T-shirt that DNA testing later connected to Vasquez. Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed the victim fleeing the area shirtless and bleeding, followed minutes later by two suspects walking away from the trail, including a man who matched Vasquez's description and who was also shirtless at the time, prosecutors said. Vasquez was later arrested and on June 4, was convicted by a jury of assault with a deadly weapon. The special allegations found true included that the crime was gang-related and that he caused great bodily injury in the commission of a felony. 'Ventura County residents should feel safe and secure while hiking on our beautiful trails, not worried about encountering gang violence,' said Hayley Moyer, Ventura County District Attorney who prosecuted the case. 'We would like to thank the jurors for their careful and thoughtful deliberation, holding the defendant accountable for this vicious, gang-motivated attack.' He remains in custody without bail and faces 14 years in state prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled on July 3 at the Ventura County Superior Court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US can't cut China off completely, but must defend AI and American innovation from nonstop theft: Sen Rounds
SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA – China's rampant theft of intellectual property from American institutions and industry must be thwarted as the U.S. battles to remain the world's economic and military leader – but America cannot completely decouple from the economic behemoth, Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. The key, according to Rounds, is maintaining China as a key trade partner without giving them access to America's technology, including artificial intelligence and computer chips. "In doing so, maybe we'll restrict their ability to actually be able to have a market that they can create their own stuff with. They'll be using ours. And in using ours, they'll be our standards," Rounds told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during the Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday in California. "Let's not necessarily just totally divest. Let's see if we can have an influence on them and the rest of the world as well when it comes to standards for AI and other technological advances in the future," he added. Rounds was among the conference panelists who spoke on the threats China poses as President Donald Trump addresses the country's chronic trade deficit with foreign nations, and his optimism for the future as the U.S. sprints to remain the world's economic and military leader. Spy Surge Sparks Trump Visa Crackdown On Chinese Students Read On The Fox News App Rounds' remarks focused on keeping the U.S. in the driver's seat of the world's economy, which he explained is deeply entwined in technological advances and bucking Chinese theft of intellectual property, while also acknowledging and combating how China has advanced into a "near-peer competitor" with the U.S. from a military standpoint. 'No Reason' For New Nukes: Trump Floats Disarmament Talks With China, Russia "We've got to do a better job of protecting the intellectual properties that we've got. The most advanced types of technologies that we have, everything we can do to slow down their connection with that, protecting against that infiltration or de-filtration of really good information that, right now, they're stealing from us on a regular basis," Rounds said during a panel called "China and the U.S.: When Trading Partners are also Great Power Competitors." He added that China has no qualms about stealing U.S. intellectual property – which is understood as intangible creations, such as patents for inventions or trade secrets such as tech algorithms. Rounds recalled a recent conversation with an ambassador to China who told him their culture does not understand "how someone can own an idea." Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last Wednesday that the U.S. will begin "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, most notably those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party who are trained at U.S. schools, but return to China or feed U.S. information to China. Rounds said the country needed a pause on admitting Chinese nationals with CCP ties into elite U.S. schools until an enforceable agreement is in place protecting intellectual property and processes from Chinese capture. "We have Chinese students that come in here, and then they [maintain] ties back home. And even if they want to stay here, one of the challenges we have is that their family may very well be coerced into requiring them to come back home again. And if that's the case, any of the knowledge that we've helped them to develop here goes back home with them," Rounds said. "Until such time as we're able to address that, and until such time as we're able to be assured that the information that they're getting here, the data that they are catching here, the knowledge that they gain here isn't going to be used against our young men and women in the future, we want to slow this down a little bit. Let's just take a break. Let's not be bringing in these Chinese students that have ties with the Chinese Communist Party, until we have some kind of agreement in place that is enforceable," he said. Rounds explained during the Reagan library forum that protecting U.S. intellectual property from Chinese theft has a ripple effect on U.S. efforts to remain the world's military leader as China seeks parity with America. State Department Says It Will 'Aggressively Revoke' Visas Of Chinese Students "[China is] a strategic challenger for us on the military side. They are a near-peer competitor. And they have an advantage over us in one particular way: They are unified in terms of when Xi Jinping wants to move, it's not just the government that moves, but the entire rest of their economic activity is required to move the way that he wants them to move. We don't have that here. And so for us, we have to recognize that challenge. Now, I'm not suggesting we go the direction that they go, but we have to recognize their ability to move very, very quickly," he said. The Trump administration leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods in April, and China retaliated against the president's "Liberation Day" policies with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement last month, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post on Friday. Trump Calls Out Putin, Accuses China Of Not Honoring Trade Deal Terms During 19Th Week In Office "I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" he wrote. Rounds explained that the U.S. is in the midst of reaching a favorable trade deal while also acknowledging China has stolen billions of dollars in intellectual property for its own advantage. "We do, right now, really close to about a half a trillion dollars a year in economic activity with China today, but they steal about $600 billion in intellectual property on an annual basis. And so we have this dichotomy of trying to do good trade and at the same time recognizing that they're stealing our property," he said. Rounds said the floodgates of accepting and leveraging AI have not yet opened in the U.S., as many Americans are still hesitant to trust the technology. In mere months and years, however, he said the health industry will see massive overhauls, aided by tech that can quickly identify cancer or diagnose diabetes and Alzheimer's. This will lead American culture to accept AI and rally the private sector's proliferation of it, he said. House China Committee Zeros In On Latest Ccp Efforts To Steal American Agriculture Ip "I think what the American people want to see is, what's in it for them? What improves their quality of life? I think one of the most critical issues – that would really be one of the easiest to get into – is talking about health care. And I firmly believe that Americans will see AI as a benefit to them rather than as a challenge when we start to see cures for diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancers. And those are all within reach," Rounds told Fox Digital. Rounds added during the forum that when Americans personally feel how their quality of life has improved due to AI, "that's when we'll really see the push across the country to develop AI at a rate that you've never seen before by the private sector, as well." "That's what's going to keep us ahead of China," he said. The forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is nestled in California's Santa Susana Mountains and the Simi Hills, kicked off on Thursday evening, and featured more than a dozen discussions and panels focused on the economy, artificial intelligence, U.S. defense strategies, the energy sector and more across Friday. Banking leader Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were among those who joined Rounds in addressing the nation's economic health. "The Reagan Library does an excellent job working on defense issues, and now they've also opened up a seminar basically working on economic issues critical to the United States. And so to come in here and to work with other people that care about the economic well-being of our country, this is an excellent place to do it.… So it's an opportunity for me to really learn what's going on and what other people are thinking about our economy in general," Rounds told Fox Digital of the forum. Jpmorgan's Jamie Dimon Calls On Us To Stockpile Bullets, Rare Earth Instead Of Bitcoin The conference comes as the Senate works to pass the Big Beautiful Bill, which is a sweeping multitrillion-dollar piece of legislation that advances Trump's agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. Rounds said the legislation must pass or Americans will see their taxes spike. "We don't have a choice. We have to pass the bill to get the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act back in place on a permanent basis. If we don't do that, the average American family is going to see about a $2,400 a year increase in their taxes. So we have to do something. And it's critical that we pass this bill. We're going to work with the House. We're gonna get this deal done. The Senate will put their mark of approval on it, but nonetheless, we want to do everything we can as quickly as we can to take care of this so that we can get on to other things. The president has made it very clear he wants to get this done. We want to help in that regard. This is our job," he article source: US can't cut China off completely, but must defend AI and American innovation from nonstop theft: Sen Rounds
