UPDATED: Four suspects arrested for robbing 23 Best Buys across the US, including 3 in the Twin Cities metro
UPDATE - August 10th, 10:40 AM: Jacquiline Pavon criminal complaint was officially released this morning, just like the other three, Pavon was charged with Felony Theft (Aggregating) which comes with a maximum sentence of 0-10 years, and/or a fine of $6,000 to 20,000.
Twin Cities - Following a string of thefts across several Twin Cities metro area Best Buys locations, the Eagan Police Department started an investigation into an organized group of individuals tied to retail thefts. Beginning back in June 2023, the group of thieves would enter a local Best Buy location and work together to steal merchandise from the businesses. While stealing from the stores, the suspects would take and conceal the merchandise, while some of the suspects would use tools to remove the anti-theft security devices on the merchandise they were stealing.
The first theft occurred on Friday, June 9, 2023, at around 1:59 PM at Best Buy located in Apple Valley, Minnesota. During this robbery, the suspects stole around $4,087.68 of merchandise. During the investigation into the theft, a manager with the store was able to provide Apple Valley Police Officers with still images of the suspects and surveillance footage of the thefts occurring.
The second theft occurred around 3:20 PM on Friday, June 9, 2023. This time, the suspects entered the Best Buy located in Eagan, Minnesota. During the robbery, the suspects stole around $5,502.66 worth of merchandise with the store manager once again able to provide the Eagan Police Department Officers with still images of the suspects and surveillance footage of the thefts occurring.
The third and final theft in the Twin Cities metro occurred around 4:06 PM on Friday, June 9, 2023. This robbery occurred at Best Buy in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The suspects stole around $4,008.00 worth of merchandise. The store managers were once again able to provide authorities with still images of the suspects and surveillance of the theft occurring. It was noted in the criminal complaint, that Yessenia Polanco, was not involved in this final theft in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
According to the criminal complaint, on Thursday, July 20, 2023, an investigator working on this case was alerted that the four suspects wanted in the string of robberies in the Twin Cities were arrested in Moore, Oklahoma during an attempted robbery at Best Buy there. During this arrest, authorities were able to identify the four suspects as 42-year-old Yessenia Polanco, 37-year-old Jacquiline Pavon, 33-year-old Davis Rugama, and 39-year-old Layorny Flores. The investigator compared photographs of the arrested suspects in Moore, Oklahoma with the stills from the thefts in the Twin Cities and they were able to determine these were the same suspects. The four criminals are known by authorities to work together and rob Best Buy stores across several states. According to the criminal complaint, the organized crime manager with Best Buy states this group of four criminals is responsible for at least 23 different thefts with an estimated value of around $56,000.00.
Rugama, Polanco, and Flores have all been charged with Felony Theft (Aggregating) which comes with a maximum sentence of 0-10 years, and/or a fine of $6,000 to 20,000. According to the criminal complaint, the State has elected to aggregate the offenses as permitted under Minnesota statute Section 609.52, subd.3(5). The charges for Pavon have not been made public yet.
