Colorado burglary ring targets Asian homes in theft ‘epidemic’

Several Asian American households in Colorado were burglarized in targetted attacks that law enforcement officials warned may be part of a nationwide ring tied to the “South American Theft Group.”

The “sophisticated” network of thieves has looted nearly $1 million worth of cash and luxury items from the homes of different Asian business owners in Douglas County over the past year, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said last week.

A similar pattern of Asian American home burglaries has been tracked by cops across 15 other counties and towns in Colorado in what a local detective called an “epidemic” that’s affected several states, CBS News reported.

“This is a nationwide trend,” Westminster Police Detective Adam Lanning told the news station. “Lots of criminal entities have figured this out and have started targeting the Asian population to go into their homes and get money and jewelry out of their homes.”

The thieves have planned out the heists in complex attacks, spending time to find targets and learn their behavior.

They’ve planted hidden cameras on the victims’ properties and tracking devices on their cars to see when the homes are empty for them to break in, according to the sheriff’s office.

The thieves may also be using Wi-Fi jammers to block security cameras and disable alarms, going so far as to slash one of their victim’s tires at their place of work so they couldn’t respond to the active alarm at home in time, according to the release.

The ring has specifically been targeting Asian American business owners in the county, according to police.

The president and CEO of the Colorado Asian Chamber of Commerce Fran Campbell believes the bandits are going after the group because often first-generation Asian Americans keep a lot of their cash at their homes.

“They keep a lot of their assets at home especially if they’re new immigrants that don’t necessarily trust the banking world,” Campbell told CBS News.

Residents in Arapahoe County, just an hour north of Douglas County, have also been struggling against similar thefts.

The Arapahoe thieves have specifically broken into nine “high-value” homes for “dinnertime burglaries” often on Friday evenings when residents aren’t home, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office told the Colorado Sun. The sheriff also suspects that the thieves are part of the South American group.

The Arapahoe County Police Department is working with other officers in Arizona, California, and Florida who have also seen similar crime rings crop up in their communities.

The majority of the thieves remain at large as they are careful to cover their tracks.

But at least one member was cuffed. In November 2023, Broomfield police arrested Yury Agudelo-Forrero, a woman from Colombia, while she was aiding in a burglary at the home of a Chinese restaurant owner, according to a police affidavit obtained by CBS News. Her arrest came around the same time crime analysts in the area began to notice the Asian-target pattern between the thefts.

Forrero has since been charged with burglary and theft in Weld County, Broomfield County and Arapahoe County.