A federal and multi-state law enforcement investigation has led to eight suspects, who were tied to a Mexican cartel and some of whom were living in Zion, being arrested in a large retail theft ring.
The Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office’s Drug Operations Group (KDOG) detectives were contacted in March by the Oak Brook, Illinois, Police Department.
Oak Brook police reached out regarding an investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) involving an organized retail theft ring.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Daniel Ruth said the cell has direct ties to Cartel La Familia Michoacana in Mexico.
Cartel members are known to move around the country using a sophisticated network of stash houses, vehicles and fraudulent identifications.
Ruth said it is estimated that the cartel is responsible for more than $100 million in thefts annually in the United States.
The proceeds from the crimes are used to further the cartel’s narcotic, firearm and human trafficking mission.
The group was observed committing thefts in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, on April 6.
Several members of the group were detained during a traffic stop conducted by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office on April 10.
The suspects were in possession of more than $21,000 worth of stolen retail merchandise from Madison, Wisconsin, Ruth said.
Detectives conducted a search warrant on May 6 in the 3900 block of 28th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the assistance of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team.
Additional information was obtained as a result of the search that led detectives to a storage unit in Kenosha.
A second search warrant was drafted and served on the storage unit location that same day.
Ruth said there was a “vast quantity” of stolen merchandise, along with tools and other evidence of the crimes, recovered from the residence.
More than $53,000 in stolen items still had price tags. There was an equal amount or more in stolen items but the values have yet to be confirmed.
More than $16,000 in stolen merchandise was recovered from the storage unit and it is estimated that more than $120,000 in stolen property was recovered in Kenosha County during the operation, which was a “massive undertaking,” Ruth said.
Four members of the theft ring were taken into custody and transported to the Kenosha County Jail.
Four other members of the organization were not at the residence but their locations were identified.
Kenosha County detectives, along with HSI investigators and ICE agents, coordinated with the Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff’s Office to take the remaining four into custody.
The eight charged suspects were identified as Fausto Gonzalez-Medrano, of Kenosha; Manuel Perez-Sanchez, of Zion; Yareli Salas-Ramirez, of Zion; Danna Paola Gomez, of Chicago; Jose Antonio Baez-Fuerte, of Kenosha, Kenosha; Jorge Alberto Villeda-Sevilla, of Kenosha; Sharon Jazmin Villeda-Sevilla, of Kenosha; and Ana Paola Villeda-Sevilla, of Kenosha.
Fausto Gonzalez-Medrano, Manuel Perez-Sanchez, Yareli Salas-Ramirez and Danna Paola Gomez posted bonds up to $25,000 and were then transferred to ICE custody.
They have not returned to court because they have been deported back to Mexico. They each have fully extraditable warrants issued for their arrests in case they return to the United States.
The four remaining suspects are in custody at the Kenosha County Jail.
Ruth said several of the arrested defendants are considered “high-level” members of the cartel.
“The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office is honored to have played a crucial role with all of our involved law enforcement partners. I am proud of the fact that KDOG detectives identified key members, executed search warrants, and gathered crucial evidence of this cartel retail theft ring,” Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner said.