Third suspect arrested in theft ring
FBI agents arrested a third suspect Friday in a major theft ring that stole drugs and high-quality merchandise from delivery vans and warehouses around the valley.
Alexander Del Valle Garcia, 40, who has a history of criminal arrests and few ties to the community, was ordered detained until an April 26 preliminary hearing on charges of robbery and making a false statement.
Two other suspects — Julio De Armas Diaz, 53, and Alexis Torres Simon, 44 — were taken into custody Monday as they were about to kidnap and rob a delivery van driver at gunpoint, according to authorities.
All three defendants are Cuban immigrants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown said in court Friday that the driver delivered pharmaceutical drugs.
FBI agents made the Monday arrests in the parking lot of Hoggard Elementary School, 950 N. Tonopah Drive, which was about 500 yards from the home of the van driver. De Armas Diaz and Torres Simon were ordered detained on theft and robbery charges earlier in the week.
Agents with the FBI’s Organized Crime Squad in Las Vegas had enlisted the help of a confidential informant inside the group before the arrests. Las Vegas police also participated in the investigation.
In a criminal complaint unsealed earlier in the week, the FBI described the organization’s method of operation, which looted hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise from delivery trucks and warehouses.
Members conducted surveillance at retailers around the valley to determine delivery patterns, the complaint alleges. Once a delivery truck was identified, members followed the truck to a warehouse where the merchandise was stored.
Torches were used to cut holes in metal garage-style doors to enter the warehouses and steal the goods, which were loaded into waiting vehicles, the complaint alleges.
The group, according to the complaint, also stole merchandise directly from delivery vans or trucks parked at stops on the way to warehouses.
FBI agents linked the ring to the Oct. 15 warehouse theft of $573,756 in exclusive Coach merchandise, including purses, in southeast Las Vegas, the complaint alleges.
Agents also tied group members to November and March break-ins of delivery vans carrying pharmaceutical drugs, the complaint alleges.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.
