Arrests Made In Serial Burglaries Targetting Gold Jewelry

FAIRFAX, Va. (WUSA) -- Three people were charged for a string of burglaries in Northern Virginia targeting gold jewelry belonging to South-Asian families.  The thefts were first reported to police in January 2009.

Francisco Gray, 39, of Nassau County, New York; Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, 27, and his wife, Melinda Soto, 33, both of Queens, New York, face four counts of burglary; four counts of grand larceny; and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary.

They are being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Raman Kumar's townhouse was one of the thieves' targets on Feb. 27, 2009. Kumar says generations of family heirlooms are now gone.

"These belonged to my mother, my great grand mother, my grand mother ..my wife's mother, who is deceased. [The gold jewelry] had more than a monetary value. It had emotional value for us," he says.

Kumar says it is important that the suspects get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Sully Police District state in a Press Release:

U.S. Marshals working with the police burglary task force spotted a sport utility vehicle with two men and a woman inside who fit the description of suspects in the burglaries.  They stopped the vehicle at Moore Road and Clifton Road about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, 2009.

Police searched the suspect's SUV and found a laptop computer, a computer, a GPS unit, and a police scanner tuned to Fairfax County police radio channels.

The arrests mark the beginning of a new phase in the investigation that is expected to include multiple jurisdictions in at least two states. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text "TIP187" plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.