3 Colombian Nationals Tied To Suspicious Devices In Temecula: RSO

TEMECULA, CA — Three Colombian Nationals were arrested this week on suspicion of hiding a video recorder in a Temecula neighborhood so they could track residents' whereabouts and burglarize their homes, the sheriff's department announced.

Hames Giovany Lopez Granados, 28, Dany Alejandro Aponte-Abaunza, 38, and Jonathan Sierra-Rincon, 27, all of Los Angeles, were arrested shortly after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at various L.A. locations, according to jail records.

Search warrants for their arrests followed an investigation that began around 6:42 p.m. May 9 when Southwest Sheriff’s Station deputies were called about a suspicious device in the 42000 block of Drennon Court, in Temecula's Crowne Hill neighborhood, according to the agency.

The strange device turned out to be a video recorder.

Previous Patch reporting about the Crowne Hill neighborhood investigation found that at least one video recorder was buried in a front yard hedge, obscured from view by a fake plant.

A neighbor's security camera captured the recording device being planted by two masked men, according to the Patch report.

With help from federal agents and other law enforcement agencies, it was determined that four people "conspired to covertly place the devices with the intent to commit burglary," according to the sheriff's department.

It's not clear how many recording devices were found in the Crowne Hill neighborhood.

The sheriff's department said it is still seeking the fourth suspect, whose identity was not released.

Jail records show all three arrestees remained jailed Thursday in lieu of $35,000 bail each. The three were being held on one count each of conspiracy and one count each of first-degree burglary — both felonies.

News reports across Southern California reveal that burglars are increasingly using hidden cameras to learn the schedules of their potential victims so they can strike when no one is home. Law enforcement officials are responding to calls about hidden devices near homes, stashed in shrubs or planters, wrapped in fake green leaves and often attached to a battery pack.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department have offered tips for residents to protect themselves:

• Regularly inspect your home's exterior for devices and fake or unusual shrubbery.
• Be aware of any suspicious activity in your neighborhood. Criminals posing as solicitors use the ruse to plant devices.
• If you discover a hidden camera or strange device, call the police.
• Shift from wireless to wired. Deter Wi-Fi jamming by asking your internet provider or an electrician to hardwire your burglary alarm system, connecting it to your router via cables.
• Place electronic trackers inside valuables. Apple Air Tags or similar trackers can be placed inside an object and tracked via a smartphone.
• Protect your circuit breakers. Padlock for your electrical circuit boxes to deter easy access for burglars who want to interfere with the alarm system.
• Make it harder to break in. The LAPD recommends that anyone with a sliding door place a metal bar on the bottom tracks to block it from opening.
• Install motion sensor lighting.

Anyone with information about the Temecula case is asked to contact Riverside County Sheriff's Lead Investigator Angel Gasparini at the Southwest Sheriff’s Station: 951-696-3000.