Seven people, believed to be part of a South American Theft Group (SATG), were arrested by Scottsdale detectives for their involvement in two valley burglaries. All seven suspects were arrested around 4:15 p.m. on Friday, May 23, during the service of a search warrant at the short-term rental where they were staying near Camelback and Miller Roads. Items and property related to the crimes they are accused of were recovered during the search warrant service.

On May 20, Scottsdale Police received information from the Burbank Police Department in California about a SATG group from Colombia that had allegedly committed burglaries in California, Oregon and Washington and could be headed to Arizona. The inter-agency shared information included vehicle descriptions and, through investigative means, vehicles matching the given description were located at a short-term rental property in Scottsdale near Camelback and Miller Roads. Scottsdale detectives quickly set up surveillance efforts. From May 20 to May 22, detectives gained intelligence and conducted surveillance on the group of seven. 

On May 23, during surveillance operations, Scottsdale detectives followed the group to residences in Tempe and Mesa, where they observed all seven suspects coordinate and participate in burglary activity at both locations. One home in Tempe was burglarized around 12:25 p.m., and one home in Mesa was burglarized at about 1:30 p.m. Detectives worked with the victims afterward to take reports and notify Tempe and Mesa Police. Surveillance operations continued, and the suspects were observed returning to the short-term rental in Scottsdale. 

On May 23, around 4:00 p.m., detectives and Scottsdale Police SWAT served a search warrant at the short-term rental property the suspects were staying at, arresting all seven suspects without complications and recovering evidence related to the burglaries in Tempe and Mesa.

All seven suspects were booked into the Maricopa County Jail and face numerous criminal charges. They have had their initial appearance, and each suspect was held on a $150k cash-only bond. 

The seven suspects are:

• 23-year-old Nicolas Rojas Leon (County booking# G181211)
  
• 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Orozco-Vargas (County booking# G181210)
  
• 38-year-old Andres David Sanchez-Novoa (County booking# G181209)
  
• 26-year-old Natalia Isabella Ortiz-Daza (County booking# G181214)
  
• 28-year-old Martha Juliana Echiverri-Guzman (County booking# G181212)
  
• 32-year-old Lady Johanna Gueito (County booking# G181215)
  
• 25-year-old Angie Paola Herandez-Manrique (County booking# G181213)

This case is an excellent example of our great relationships with law enforcement partners locally and nationwide. We share information with each other and monitor crime trends and related activity to do what we can to stay ahead of criminals and coordinate efforts to stop them. Investigations like these can be complicated and involve many hours of surveillance and thorough investigation techniques to help solve and bring the involved suspects to justice.

Detectives are working to return the stolen property to the burglary victims. A French Bulldog was recovered and verified as having been stolen from a burglary in California and reunification efforts are underway. 

Scottsdale Police is the lead agency for these cases. The DRs are 2510574 for the Tempe burglary and 2510584 for the Mesa burglary. Currently, there are no Scottsdale cases related to this group.