3 members of multi-state jewelry theft ring sent to prison - NJ.com
TRENTON — Three New York men who helped run an organized theft ring that stole over $800,000 in jewelry in six states were sentenced to prison in Mercer County Friday.
Nestor Avila-Martinez, 26, Kevin Rodriguez, 25, and Bryan Osorio, 27, appeared in court to be sentenced for their roles in the theft ring, which is responsible for multiple thefts around 2013 and 2014, including eight crimes in New Jersey.
Avila-Martinez, of Middle Village, N.Y., and Rodriguez, of Queens, N.Y., both pleaded guilty to racketeering and were sentenced to eight and seven years in prison, respectively.
Osorio, also of Queens, who pleaded guilty to shoplifting, was sentenced to five years in prison.
All three men were ordered to pay back the monetary value of the items they had stolen.
The three men are part of a group of seven New York men and women who were indicted in 2015 in connection with the theft ring. The charges in the indictment ranged from shoplifting and theft to racketeering and conspiracy.
One of the women involved, Omaira Reina, pleaded guilty in July to shoplifting and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
The remaining three accused members of the ring, Juan Carlos Ramirez, Angie Rodriguez and an unidentified woman known as, "Gisele," have pending charges of racketeering and conspiracy, according to the Attorney General's Office.
New Jersey State Police and the state Division of Criminal Justice began investigating the theft ring in 2014 after members of the group followed a victim from a trade show in Mount Laurel to a service station on the New Jersey Turnpike. There, they broke into the victim's car and stole $219,000 worth of silver beads from inside, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Throughout the ensuing investigation, authorities discovered that the theft ring executed eight crimes in New Jersey, including two jewel thefts worth over $150,000 each, a camera and a bicycle worth $5,700.
Seven indicted in jewel theft ring
During the sentencing Friday, members of the Attorney General's Office discussed the financial harm that the theft ring had caused for retailers and business owners across the state. They said some victims of the thefts had lost their life savings while others had to downsize their businesses.
An attorney representing Avila-Martinez said Friday that the 26-year-old has been a model inmate since he was charged. She presented Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw with letters written by employees at the Mercer County Correction Center, who described Avila-Martinez as a hard worker who was trying to better himself.
The attorney also mentioned the group of family members who filled the seats on one half of the courtroom Friday were in support of all three men who were sentenced.
Avila-Martinez spoke at his sentencing, which was the first of the three Friday morning. He apologized for his part in the ring and called the order to pay back the victims, a chance to redeem himself.
"I want to show you that I've been doing good for myself," Avila-Martinez told Warshaw Friday before imploring the judge to be "lenient."
"Eight years is too much.... I really, really, really regret this," he said.
His words were echoed by a fellow member of the group, Rodriguez, at the latter's sentencing late Friday morning.
"I'm not a bad person," Rodriguez said, adding that he has never faced any punishment as serious as the seven-year sentence he was given Friday.
Osorio, who was the last to be sentenced Friday morning, took the time to apologize to his family, who gathered in the courtroom behind him.
Before sentencing Avila-Martinez, Warshaw noted that his charges were much more than a case of "glorified shoplifting."
"This was a carefully planned and sophisticated enterprise," Warshaw said of the theft ring.
The Attorney General's Office has said the group is linked to thefts totaling over $430,000 worth of jewelry around New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia and Rhode Island.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman.
