Yankees Pitcher Aroldis Chapman Targeted By Miami Burglary Ring

MIAMI, FL — Yankees great Aroldis Chapman was targeted by a high-tech burglary ring in Miami, but the famous closer will have to give the save in this case to Miami-Dade police, who busted the crew before they could throw a strike against the New York pitcher, according to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and court documents.

Xandi Garcia, one of the suspected leaders of the burglary ring, was taken into custody Tuesday on multiple charges along with nine others, including his mother, who is accused of helping her son structure financial transactions and launder the proceeds from his illegal activities that also allegedly included the operation of multiple marijuana grow houses.

Fernandez Rundle told reporters the burglary ring stalked potential victims through social media and even placed electronic tracking devices on their vehicles in some cases, although it did not appear that Chapman or his wife had an electronic tracking device placed on their vehicles.

"They were eyeing the house. They had pictures of the house," Fernandez Rundle said.

Her office released social media images of some of the potential victims in which the victims were wearing expensive jewelry in their posts.

"They used social media to find victims, and we used social media to find them," Fernandez Rundle said at a news conference.

Court documents said Xandi Garcia conducted a web search to find Chapman's address in Davie, Florida, but investigators said Champan's home was not burglarized.

"Text message exchanges, as well as media files and web search history stored in Xandi Garcia's cellular devices, indicate that the organization was planning to burglarize the residence of a Major League Baseball player," documents said. "Several screenshots saved in Xandi Garcia's cellular device depict satellite imagery of Mr. Chapman's residence."

The documents said Xandi Garcia's text messages revealed that he was monitoring the social media account of Chapman's wife.

"The images from Angelina Chapman's account depict the couple's children riding their bicycles in front of their Davie residence," court documents said.

Investigators also discovered a video clip on Xandi Garcia's phone.

"This video is a 17-second clip which depicts a physical surveillance conducted in Mr. Chapman's neighborhood," according to the documents. "The video also captures Mr. Chapman's residence."

In all, investigators believe the group is responsible for six burglaries around the Miami area.

An elderly couple in Hialeah had $15,000 set aside as a down payment for a home that was taken in one of the burglaries.

Investigators believe the group had been planning at least three more burglaries and were involved with five illegal marijuana grow house operations.

Fernandez Rundle said the burglary ring should serve as a cautionary tale for everyone who uses social media.

"We all want to share pictures of our family and our homes, and our Christmas tree or Hanukkah trees, or whatever it may be that we hold dear," she said. "But when you do that, you need to realize that you are making yourself a potential victim."