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3 men charged in Fairfax County burglary possibly tied to East Coast crime ring

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Three men have been arrested in Fairfax County, Virginia, who police believe may be linked to an East Coast burglary ring.

Police said a burglary took place Sept. 17 in the 6500 block of Kelsey Point Circle in Kingstowne. A town home was broken into, and an estimated $30,000 worth of property was stolen.

“The house was completely ransacked,” said Maj. James Curry, who runs the department’s Major Crimes Unit. “Fortunately, as they canvassed the area, they immediately identified surveillance video of an individual running from the back of the town house, getting into a vehicle.”

Using surveillance video, detectives identified a vehicle they believe was used in the burglary.

Less than 24 hours later, three men were arrested and charged in the burglary: 29-year-old Nicolay Cubillos Pacheco, 38-year-old Saul Gudalupe Gonzalez and 27-year-old Heller Roncancio Espitia, of Florida.

All three are facing the same charges of statutory burglary, grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell and possession of burglarious tools. They’re being held in the Fairfax County jail without bond.

Curry said the men are wanted in several other states on similar charges and his department is working with officials in those jurisdictions to determine the size of the potential burglary ring.

The Fairfax County Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center helped generate leads on the case and it assisted in connecting the three to the burglary, Curry said.

During the investigation police said they found items often used in organized burglary rings, including cellphone and Wi-Fi jammers used to disrupt security systems, window punches and a vehicle license flipping device.

“Really good collaboration and teamwork from patrol, detectives, to the entire team,” Curry said.

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