Community
Thousand Oaks- South American Theft Group Arrests
| Nature of Incident: | South American Theft Group Suspects Arrested | ||||
| Report Number: | 22-3258 | ||||
| Location: | 5400 block of Century Boulevard, Los Angeles |
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| Date & Time: | 2/24/2022 10:45 p.m. | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit |
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Teresa Valdenegro (S) Samir Percival Munoz Valdenegro |
Transient Transient |
46 21 |
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| Narrative: | |||||
| On February 24, 2022, detectives with the Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) arrested two suspects for conspiracy to commit identity theft, steal personal property and possession of fraudulent documents. On January 9, 2022, deputies with the Camarillo Police Department documented the theft of a victim’s wallet from a business located in the 300 block of West Ventura Boulevard. The deputies determined a male and female suspect worked in conjunction to steal the victim’s wallet. The deputies also determined the victim’s credit cards were subsequently used to purchase or attempt to purchase products at several locations including a Best Buy store located in Thousand Oaks. Detectives with the Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) recognized this crime as being consistent with criminal activities conducted by members of the South American Theft Group (SATG) and began an investigation into the crime. During the course of the investigation, detectives were able to identify the suspects as (S) Teresa Valdenegro and (S) Samir Percival Munoz Valdenegro and determined they were both Chilean Nationals. Detectives learned the same suspects had likely recently committed similar crimes in New Jersey, Maryland, Texas and Orange County. On February 24, 2022, SEU detectives determined Teresa had used a fraudulent government ID to obtain a hotel room in the 5400 block of Century Boulevard. Detectives obtained a search warrant to search their hotel room for evidence related to their criminal activity. The hotel room was searched and evidence linking the suspects to the Ventura County crime was located, however the suspects were not in the hotel room at the time. Detectives also located multiple fraudulent government ID’s from multiple countries and property suspected to have either been stolen from additional victims or purchased using stolen credit cards. A short time later, SEU detectives contacted Teresa and Samir as they were about to enter their hotel room and arrested them for their involvement in the Ventura County crime. During a search incident to arrest, detectives located additional property valued at more than $5000 suspected to have recently been purchased through the use of stolen credit cards, and property suspected to have been stolen from numerous victims from various cities throughout Southern California. Detectives also located a victim’s driver’s license and credit cards that were used to purchase over $2,000 in gift cards and additional merchandise. Detectives were able to confirm that victim’s wallet had been stolen just a few hours earlier while the victim was dining at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. SEU detectives are continuing to identify additional victims as well as collaborate with surrounding law enforcement agencies regarding Teresa’s and Samir’s criminal activities. Teresa and Samir were booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for conspiracy to commit theft, identity theft, and possession of fraudulent government identification. They are both currently in custody with bail set at $200,000. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant Greg Gibson | ||||
| News Release Date: | February 25, 2022 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective Weston Price [email protected] 805-947-8281 |
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| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Denise Sliva YES NO |
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Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511