ST. GEORGE — Two men suspected of being part of a South American crime group were arrested Monday at a motel in St. George after their identifying documents were found to be fake.
Officers investigating a string of thefts in St. George responded to a motel at the corner of North 2000 East and Red Hills Parkway where two of the suspects were possibly staying.
Several days before, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations received information indicating a license plate on a rental vehicle associated with one of the “South American Theft Groups”, or SATGs, was scanned in the St. George area.
Agents determined the car had been towed from Beaver City and dropped off at an auto shop in St. George. Video collected by investigators showed two Hispanic males exiting the car as they collected their belongings from the vehicle. The men were then seen walking north on North 1000 East in the direction of the motel.
Officers later confirmed both men were guests of the motel and that each day they would pay cash for the room. Copies of the state-issued identification cards out of Puerto Rico were turned over to authorities who later determined the cards were fake.
The two suspects were identified as Ignacio Barahona Vasquez, 31, and Ignacio Javier Leyton-Carreno, 18.
A records check on the names associated with the fraudulent cards indicated that on May 23, the suspects were stopped by authorities in Indiana in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries reported at several golf courses in the area. The officer who stopped the car believed both men were in the U.S. from Chile, according to the report.
St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News the men were also suspects in a string of thefts that were still under investigation when they were located at the motel days later.
During an interview with the pair, Carreno provided agents with a Puerto Rican driver’s license issued to Javier Velasquez, while Vasquez’s fraudulent card was under the name of Julio Silva, both of which were false. Both men later admitted to agents that the cards were fraudulent and said they were in fact from Chile.
They were arrested and charged with one third-degree felony count of forgery following the arrest at the motel. Agents also noted that both men were suspects in an active theft investigation by detectives in St. George.
Agents also learned neither man had ties to Utah, as is common among these theft groups, the agent added. Both were found with a substantial amount of cash in their possession, leading authorities to believe they would likely be able to make bail and then flee the country should they be released on a bond.
The report said both suspects were initially adamant they were from “the country of Puerto Rico,” which the agent stated was indicative of individuals that will not stay in the area to be held accountable for their actions.
Moreover, the report also states that these purported theft groups are known to travel in rental vehicles and then return on a flight back to Chile to avoid prosecution. As such, the agent requested that both men be held without bail, a request that was approved by G. Michael Westfall. The suspects remain in custody in Washington County on a no-bail hold.
Mitchell said that overall, officers are seeing an uptick in the number of reports the agency receives that involve groups that travel to the area to commit thefts, vehicle burglaries or other similar crimes and then are gone quickly.
“We are still seeing a rise in the number of vehicles being burglarized at trailheads, golf courses or in locations in which the vehicle is left unattended for an extended period of time,” Mitchell said.
She added that most of the incidents are crimes of opportunity; if a thief sees something inside the car they like, they are more likely to break into the car and take it. So before getting out of the car, she said, make sure all valuables are out of sight, or better yet, avoid leaving valuables in the car altogether.
Following the arrest on Monday, the proposed charges were sent to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.
Homeland Security’s ‘Operation Boiling Point’
According to the 2021 joint report released by the Department of Homeland Security, the federal government is ramping up efforts to counter these “Organized Theft Groups.”
Each year, more than $70 billion is lost through theft and other crimes associated with these criminal organizations that profit from obtaining goods through theft or fraud that are then sold for economic gain, crimes that include cargo theft and other fraud-related activities, as well as human trafficking and money laundering.
These organized crime groups reportedly launder more than $69 billion in illicit profits through the financial systems nationwide each year, which is why these crimes are not considered shoplifting, nor are they viewed as victimless crimes, Homeland Security Investigations state.
This type of activity has resulted in nearly $15 billion in lost tax revenue, which does not include sales tax losses at the local level. These losses that cost the average American family more than $500 each year, the agency says.
Steve Francis, acting director of Homeland Security Investigations, said in a recent release that “organized retail crime is leading to more brazen, more violent attacks in retail stores throughout the country, and many of the criminal rings orchestrating these thefts are also involved in other serious criminal activity.”
In addition to the steadily rising number of thefts that turn violent, the statement said, these criminal groups have a substantial impact on commerce and the overall economic security of the United States.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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