9 Burglary Crew Members Charged in 30 Home Break-Ins

SAN DIEGO—Prosecutors announced charges Aug. 7 against nine alleged members of a residential burglary crew accused of breaking into 30 San Diego County homes over a four-month span earlier this year. The bulk of the break-ins targeted homes in the neighborhoods of Mira Mesa, Rancho Penasquitos, and Carmel Valley, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, resulting in an estimated total loss of around $700,000 to the victims. While prosecutors said 30 homes were burglarized locally, the crew is allegedly responsible for 55 home burglaries total in California and Nevada. Other Southern California burglaries occurred in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange counties. Stephan described the defendants as a well-organized crew that donned masks and gloves and operated in groups of at least three people during each break-in. Typically, the rear sliding glass windows of the homes would be broken out and the burglars would slip inside, seeking safes for valuables like cash, jewelry, expensive designer items, and firearms....