WINNEBAGO COUNTY (NBC 26) — The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office says more than $100,000 worth of cash and jewelry was stolen at a home.
"Home invasion burglaries are different, right? You're entering someone's personal space," Detective Lieutenant Mike Sewall said. "You're breaking that threshold of where someone feels safe."
Deputies say that at 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, a suspicious vehicle — described as a new model silver or light gray Toyota Highlander believed to have Louisiana plates — parked at the end of a cul-de-sac just west of the victim's home on Sheboygan Street in the Town of Algoma. Deputies say the driver parked in a secluded area with higher-value homes.
Authorities say the home was burglarized shortly after the victims left.
Once they got back home, the victims discovered that someone entered the home through the back patio door, went to the upstairs master bedroom and ransacked it.
"It's concerning because it adds a level of professionalism to the crime that they're committing, right? They're taking extra steps to be cautious, to evade being noticed by other people," Sewall said.
Deputies say the suspect(s) pried open the victims' safe and now more than $100,000 worth of cash and jewelry is missing. A Louis Vuitton purse containing $5,000 was also stolen.
One of the victims told NBC 26 the estimated worth of what was stolen is not accurate, he did not want to be identified to avoid any more attention from criminals.
Sewall says investigators came up with the number based on an estimated value of items and cash.
Authorities say the victims are Asian and own two jewelry stores and also manufacture jewelry inside the home.
The sheriff's office says there has been a criminal network in the U.S. targeting Asian jewelry store owners by following them home and eventually burglarizing their properties by taking cash, jewelry, and designer purses. Deputies say this is stemming back to at least 2020 in multiple incidents documented in a bulletin released by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Omaha, Neb.
"They identified their suspects as operating out of Houston, TX and are originally from Honduras," according to a Wisconsin Crime Alert Network email. "The suspects are sophisticated, minimizing cellphone use, also using WiFi disabling equipment so WiFi based camera do not detect them on video. Two WiFi based Ring doorbell cameras were disabled during the act of the burglary and no video was captured whatsoever. The suspects have been identified as staying at Hampton Inns. Coincidentally, the jewelry store in our jurisdiction is positioned directly next door to a Hampton Inn."
"Our agency discovered the State of Massachusetts also broke up a ring practicing in the same exact manner, targeting Asian jewelry store owner's residences in 2018 and indicted multiple individuals on 95 counts of home invasion burglaries."
"We always try to push the community you know, especially if you are a business owner and maybe fit the type of victim that has occurred in the past, to have a little bit more awareness of what's going on around you," Sewall said.
Any agencies having similar burglaries are encouraged to contact Det. Ron Timm of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. The case number is #24-1316.
