The Major Case Bureau reports the arrests of four men for multiple Burglaries that occurred from Monday, July 4, 2022, at 12:20 a.m. in Freeport through Friday, October 7, 2022, at 8:07 p.m. in Lawrence.
According to Burglary Pattern Squad (BPS) Detectives, the South American Theft Group (SATG) have committed multiple coordinated Burglaries throughout the East Coast of the United States. Since April of 2022, the Nassau County Police Department BPS Detectives have been conducting surveillance on members of the SATG. Defendants listed below all reside at 142-37 60th Avenue, Flushing, N.Y.
• Mario Roberto Munoz-Acevedo, age 51
• Juan Daniel Leiva Sepulveda, age 38
• Juan Lopez Gonzalez, age 34
• Matias Ignacio Brito Baragano, age 25
The SATG were suspected of burglarizing two jewelry stores at 55 Northern Boulevard in Greenvale on Sunday, July 31, 2022, at 10:46 p.m. and 195 Atlantic Avenue in Freeport on Monday, July 4, 2022, at 12:20 a.m., along with other burglaries in the area.
While performing the jewelry store burglaries, subjects disabled the power meters of the targeted jewelry stores, which disabled the CCTV equipment and alarm systems. They waited for the back-up batteries to lose power, then later returned to the jewelry stores and committed the burglaries undetected, using commercial grade power tools and equipment to gain entry of locked doors and break into safes. Detectives discovered that multiple vehicles and cell phones were used to conduct counter surveillance as an attempt to avoid detection from law enforcement. Defendant Munoz-Acevedo has been arrested for the two jewelry store burglaries with losses in excess of $570,000 U.S. Currency and the investigation is ongoing.
Through a continuing investigation, BPS Detectives were able to arrest defendant Sepulveda and defendant Gonzalez for a burglary of an Albert Place residence in Lawrence that occurred on Friday, October 7, 2022, at 8:07 p.m.
• Defendant Munoz-Acevedo is charged with two counts of Burglary 3rd Degree. He was arraigned on Saturday, November 12, 2022, and is being held on bail, $100,000 Bond over $50,000 Cash and his next appearance date is Tuesday, November 15, 2022. On August of 2021, defendant Munoz-Acevedo did attempt to enter the United States on multiple occasions and was turned away at the Mexican border. The defendant did use an alias at the border and entered illegally at an unknown time.
• Defendant Sepulveda is charged with Burglary 2nd Degree, he was arraigned on Saturday, November 12, 2022, and is being held on bail, $100,000 Bond over $50,000 Cash and his next appearance date is Tuesday, November 15, 2022. On or about February 3, 2020, defendant Sepulveda did enter the United States by vehicle through Mexico. The defendant is considered a Visa overstay.
• Defendant Gonzalez is charged with Burglary 2nd Degree, he was arraigned on Saturday, November 12, 2022, and is being held on bail, $40,000 Bond over $20,000 Cash and his next appearance date is Tuesday, November 15, 2022. After being placed under arrest he was in possession of a fraudulent Mexican Driver’s License and a fraudulent Mexican Federal Election Card. The defendant is believed to have entered the United States illegally.
• Defendant Baragano has been arrested as a Fugitive from Justice for a warrant out of Volusia County, Florida. After being placed under arrest defendant Baragano was found to be in possession of a fraudulent Republic of Argentina passport, which he used to fly into the Miami International Airport. He is remanded to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office while awaiting extradition.
