Feds Charge 8 Members of Burglary Crew Targeting Asian Homeowners in NJ

Eight members of a burglary crew that allegedly targeted Asian homeowners have been charged with “conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property” by New Jersey federal authorities.

Interstate syndicate: The defendants, identified as Rabine Armour, Kevin Burton, Kevin Jackson, Thomas Rodgers, James Hurt, Sherman Glasco, Randi Barr and Terrance Black, were reportedly responsible for over 50 home break-ins in multiple states from 2016 to 2019, reported NJ.com.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the crew stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, valuable coins and jewelry, firearms and other items from homes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.
The crew would find Asian-owned cash business owners and then place the targets under surveillance. They would often break into the homes through unsecured second-floor windows, the Associated Press reported.
A co-conspirator revealed that Asian homeowners were targeted “because it was believed that the victims kept large sums of currency and jewelry in their residences.”
The defendants faced the “conspiracy” charge in federal court on Tuesday, which carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison.
Burton is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiring to tamper with evidence alongside Keesha David, a ninth suspect.

Getting caught: Authorities were able to identify the burglars after one of them left behind a mobile phone at a victim’s home in Eatontown during a burglary in January 2019.

Investigators traced the phone to a home linked to Burton and Rodgers in Elizabeth, N.J., and Rodgers’ vehicle was later determined to be used in the burglary.
With the suspects under police surveillance, Armour, Burton and Jackson were eventually caught during a break-in at a home in Old Bridge in Middlesex County, N.J.
Searches conducted in the suspects’ homes yielded many items stolen during the burglaries, including over $30,000 in cash, jewelry, foreign currency and firearms.
A note found inside Rodgers’ vehicle contained a list of residential addresses that used “derogatory descriptive terms” to identify the ethnicity of each of the targeted homeowners.
Officers used mobile phone records and the recovered stolen property to identify other suspects involved.

Featured Image via Diego Fabian Parra Pabon

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