Edixon Rincon Puentes, Jewelry Theft, Connecticut 2024

A nationwide jewelry theft ring targeting mall-based stores and kiosks has been busted, with seven individuals facing federal charges, including conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property.

The indictment alleges that from May 2023 through April 2024, the defendants, including Edixon Rincon Puentes, 44, Harold Ramirez Cagua, also known as “Gordo,” 40, and Yesenia Melendez Rincon, 40, burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls and then transported the stolen property or the proceeds from it across state lines.

The co-conspirators burglarized jewelry establishments at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Connecticut, on October 5, 2023; in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, on October 27, 2023; in Henrico, Virginia on November 4, 2023; and in Horseheads, New York, on April 18, 2024. The total losses from these burglaries exceed $1.28 million.

Edixon Rincon Puentes, 44, formerly of Los Angeles, California, was arrested on July 17 in Queens, New York, and is being detained. Harold Ramirez Cagua, 40, of Miami, Florida, and Yesenia Melendez Rincon, 40, of Kissimmee, Florida, were arrested on July 18. Melendez Rincon was released to home confinement with location monitoring.

The defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI New Haven’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force with the assistance of the Milford (Conn.) Police Department, the Hamilton Township (N.J.) Police Division, the Delaware State Police, the Henrico County (Va.) Police Division, the New York State Police, the New York Police Department, and the Pensacola (Fla.) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.

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