Bewilderment as ‘dinner-time bandits’ get probation (2024)

If someone makes “The Dinner-Time Bandits” into a movie, a good director could build the fear and confusion of months of break-ins – followed by joy after an epic manhunt and capture.

Then there would come a dreary denouement: locals howling in frustration over light sentences laid on the crooks.

Absent an adaptation, the case of the Chilean “crime tourists” appears to be closed – for the year, at least.

Though three were arrested and two sentenced (the third is a juvenile), Scottsdale’s law enforcement leader warns home break-ins by the South American Theft Gang are likely to continue.

On Feb. 27, Police Chief Jeff Walther led a town hall on a burglary ring targeting North Scottsdale.

Walther noted that Scottsdale homes were looted in a third of the 100 Valley burglaries perpetrated by Chileans here on tourist visas. Police estimate the thieves netted at least $3 million in valuables, ranging from credit cards and cash to jewelry and anything else that could be carried by hand.

The chief stressed the burglars were after easy pickings of empty homes – prowling for houses left unoccupied by owners off to dinner.

In the two cases where homeowners surprised the bandits, “they turn tail and run,” Officer Aaron Bolin added at the town hall.

Twelve days later, that’s exactly what happened.

But on March 11, bandits turned tail and ran – but were chased down by cops.

In an all-night operation, relentless Scottsdale officers arrested a getaway driver and two accomplices. All three were from Chile and suspected of being part of a nationwide ring of thieves instructed by leaders on how to rip off homes while on tourist visas issued under a system the U.S. relaxed about six years to strengthen economic ties to some South American countries.

Grecia Castillo, who admitted to waiting in a car to zoom the bandits away, was sentenced Sept. 5 to two years probation.

Approving a plea agreement, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Aryeh Schwartz ordered Castillo to be locked up for six months for conspiracy to commit burglary.

But he gave Castillo credit for the 179 days she has been behind bars at the Maricopa County Jail, meaning she will be released this week.

On Aug. 22, Schwartz gave Castillo’s accomplice Sebastian Jesus Soto the same sentence the driver received: time served plus probation.

With a Spanish translator relaying the communication to Castillo, defense attorney Alane Ortega argued that Castillo’s sentence should not have been as severe as Soto’s – given that Soto fled from police and was found with burglary tools.

Ortega asked that Castillo be released after her sentence with no probation.

The attorney stressed the 33-year-old Castillo “has got no criminal history whatsoever.”

Ortega complained to the judge that Castillo was tied by police to “a story of burglaries – hundreds – that are allocated to a group of Chilean nationals.”

The prosecution, Ortega said, “has not provided any evidence linking (Castillo) to any other burglaries.”

And, the attorney said, on the night of March 10, “she quickly admitted (to police) she was there to pick up a person who was there to commit a burglary.”

“She wants nothing more than to return to her home – which is not Arizona,” Ortega passionately stated, asking for no supervised parole.

But the judge rejected her request, going with the prosecution’s recommendation and sticking the probation sentence on the tail of her half-year jail stay.

A wild weekend

Castillo, Soto and an unnamed juvenile were arrested near Pima and Jomax roads less than two weeks after Walther’s town hall – and 2 miles from the Highland Church where the police chief met with scores of nervous residents.

The trio's capture did not come easy.

The DC Ranch/Troon area of North Scottsdale was in a frenzy the night of Saturday, March 9 – with reports of attempted “dinner-time burglars” escaping from police.

After break ins at two homes, followed by intense police car and helicopter response, neighbors took to social media to try to figure out what was going on.

The discouraging answer:

The burglars got away.

But not for long.

After eluding police the night of March 9, the bandits returned to the same area of North Scottsdale the next night.

While the gang of Chilean “tourist criminals” have been targeting empty homes, this crew made a mistake Sunday, March 10. A resident who was home heard them trying to break in, chased them off by yelling at them and then called 911.

Shortly after, a Scottsdale cop pulled over a car near Pima and Jomax roads for “suspicious behavior.” The driver – Castillo – flashed a Chilean passport to the officer who questioned her.

Walther said the woman quickly flipped, admitting she dropped off two partners looking to rob houses, then was instructed to wait. That led to a night-long search of desert washes, parks and golf courses by patrol officers, helicopters and drones and high-tech cameras.

When a heat-camera detected two bodies hiding under a tree next to a golf course, police closed in, arresting two males – an adult and a teenager.

When a heat-camera detected two bodies hiding under a tree, police closed in, arresting two males – an adult and a teenager. The two males are a 17-year-old from Santiago, Chile, and 23-year-old Soto, also of Santiago, Chile.

Walther said the teen was arrested for a similar crime in Southern California, but “walked away” from a detention facility.

Castillo and Soto originally claimed innocence – but entered guilty pleas on their respective charges at the end of July.

Theft gang

The March attempts brought the number of North Scottsdale dinner-time burglaries or attempted burglaries to 41.

Most, if not all, of the home heists are believed to be by Chileans on tourist visas and are now collectively known around the country as the South American Theft Gang.

At the town hall, Walther advised those with homes backing up to washes or golf courses to take extra precautions, as those are the houses that tantalize the bandits.

Ten days before Walther’s town hall, Phoenix Police were monitoring an area 3 miles east of Scottsdale Camelback Resort since a Feb. 9 break in of a home.

In the shadow of Camelback Mountain, officers and detectives patrolled the quiet neighborhood Feb. 16.

Just before 7:30 p.m., “Phoenix Police officers observed several subjects with dark clothing and back­packs on the residential property.”

Officers saw the three suspects jump a wall and prowled the yard – then, likely sensing they were being watched, fled and jumped in a minivan waiting nearby.

Ignoring police commands, the van took off before slamming into a cop car.

Four suspects jumped out of the car and took off running.

Police arrested two men, Johan Salvo Alarcon, 21, and Manuel Eduardo Fuentes Gomez, 25, and a woman – Sue Ellen Gutierrez Saez, 20, the alleged driver.”

The fourth escaped.

While Saez has not changed her not-guilty plea, Alarcon – who will be sentenced Sept. 26 – and Gomez entered pleas of guilty for conspiracy to commit burglary and “taking the identity of another.”

Gomez was sentenced Sept. 10.

In an almost identical sentence as the pair of Scottsdale bandits, Gomez received a six-month jail sentence – with credit for the 181 days he already served – and three years of supervised probation.

The three “dinner-time bandits” sentenced thus far also were ordered to pay fines – including $9 for the Victims’ Rights Compensation Fund – totaling $129 each.

Bewilderment as ‘dinner-time bandits’ get probation (2024)

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