st. PETERSBURG — Seven men from Chile are accused of coordinating robberies at the home of a prominent professional athlete in Florida federal court, according to criminal charges.
The FBI complaint isn’t the athlete’s name, but lists already public robbers including Patrick Mahome and Travis Kelles of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Barrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Baybuk Kanyères and NBA Milwaukee Bucks and NBA players The Memphis Grizzlies are here.
According to the complaint, the defendant is part of a robbery ring “known to target famous professional athletes when they are known to be away from home.” The man is said to have stolen watches, jewels and other valuables worth around $2 million with watches, jewels, cash and other valuables.
Each defendant has been charged with a conspiracy to commit interstate transport of stolen property and is sentenced to a maximum of 10 years. It was not clear Wednesday whether they were in custody, and Tampa Federal Court records do not list any of those lawyers.
The defendant is listed as Pablo Zuniga Kurt, 24. Ignacio Zuniga Kurt, 20; Bastian Zimenez Freraut, 27; Jordan Kiroga Sanchez, 22; Bastian Orellano Morales, 23; Alexander Huiaguil Chavez, 24; Sergio Ortega Cabello, 38. The FBI identifies them as Chileans in their claims, but has not said whether they are US citizens or legally in the country.
He was arrested in January after a traffic stop in Ohio over a state charge that allegedly broke into Bengals quarterback Barrow’s home. In that case, a court affidavit filed in Clark County, Ohio found that four men were illegally in the country.
Tampa’s federal accusations were filed on January 30th.
Much of the evidence outlined in the FBI complaint comes from cell phone data, surveillance video and license plate readers, allegedly placing the defendant near the robber. They usually used rough methods, such as broken windows or sliding glass doors opened with clover.
According to the FBI affidavit, robbers “get closer to the home from covers in woods or dark areas, but not limited to those” before breaking into the home. One unknown Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was stolen from a property worth around $167,000, including a Rolex watch, Lewis Vuitton suitcase, jewelry and guns.
One player whose home was stolen, Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks, said he was glad to learn that some arrests were made during practice Wednesday.
“That being said, you put everything you can in the game and then go home and all your belongings are gone. It’s obvious that these people have been captured, and you’re not going to have to be yours. It’s kind of a joy because I work so hard for it,” Portis said.
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The group also took photos of themselves with some of the loot items the FBI has included in the criminal charges. In one case, the suspect is seen wearing a Kansas City Chiefs shirt. According to the FBI, groups often separate into smaller units and commit multiple robberies.
“However, while robbery groups may be made up of four or five members, these separate groups often work together to cooperate with each other and communicate with the same buyers of stolen goods. “We’ll do that,” the FBI affidavit says.
Associated Press, by Curt Anderson
Contributors were Steve Megargee, AP sports writer from Milwaukee and John Seewer, AP writer from Toledo, Ohio.
