Arrests In Jewelry Ring Bust

Fifteen individuals — the majority of whom are teenagers ranging in age from 16 to 19 — have been arrested on burglary, stolen property and other charges following a sting operation at a Jackson Heights jewelry store in which the defendants allegedly sold hundreds of items stolen during home invasions and burglaries to undercover police officers posing as jewelers.
Among the stolen items allegedly fenced were gold bracelets, earrings, rings, watches, pendants and necklaces worth more than $100,000. Three other individuals are presently being sought.
The investigation leading to the arrests began in December 2005 when the New York Police Department’s Patrol Borough Queens North (PBQN) Anti-Crime Unit began conducting an investigation into the theft and fencing of stolen property in Queens. As part of the investigation, undercover police officers, utilizing video and audio surveillance, operated a jewelry store in Jackson Heights in order to photograph and record individuals entering the location and selling jewelry and other personal property at a fraction of its value.
In one of the criminal complaints filed as a result of the investigation, on the afternoon of February 23, 2006, defendants Tatiana Pineda, 16, and Julio Villareal, 17, entered the jewelry store and handed the contents of a bag containing 16 gold pieces of jewelry to an undercover police officer behind the counter and indicated that they wanted to sell the items, which included bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings. A subsequent review of burglary reports determined that the items had been reported stolen the day before.