A man facing federal charges in what authorities have called the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history was deported to Ecuador late last month, bringing the case against him to a crashing halt, according to recent court filings.<\/p>\n
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven men charged last year<\/a> with breaking into a Brinks big rig and stealing around $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches in 2022. The inquiry into the heist has seen investigators chase leads across the globe, apprehend one suspect in Panama <\/a>and explore the alleged thieves\u2019 ties to Ecuador. Much of the loot has not been recovered.<\/p>\n Flores faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. He pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n But, in a complicated sequence of events, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Flores on or about Dec. 29, according to his attorney, John D. Robertson. In a Jan. 9 motion to dismiss the case against Flores, Robertson said he had \u201cjust learned\u201d his client had been deported.<\/p>\n The jewelers victimized by the crime are indignant.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a defendant in a major federal theft case leaves the country before trial, victims are left without answers, without a verdict, and without closure,\u201d said Jerry Kroll, an attorney for some of the jewelry companies. <\/p>\n \u201cFor our clients \u2014 jewelers who lost their life\u2019s work \u2014 this outcome exposes a gap in the system that deserves transparency. They are entitled to clear answers about how this happened and whether safeguards exist to prevent it from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the court filings, Flores had been in ICE custody since September and opted for deportation. While it\u2019s not unusual for someone to be deported as they face pending criminal charges, the magnitude of the crime raises questions about what unfolded.<\/p>\n Robertson argued that the government had chosen to forgo Flores\u2019 criminal prosecution. Robertson, who did not respond to a request for comment, asked that the judge dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning that charges cannot be refiled.<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors disagreed, indicating they were caught unawares by his removal and still hoped to bring Flores to trial \u2014 if he ever returns to the U.S.<\/p>\n In a Jan. 15 motion, assistant U.S. Attys. Kevin Butler and Jena MacCabe said Flores \u201cchose to forgo his prosecution by declining the immigration judge\u2019s relief offers.\u201d They added that prosecutors \u201care supposed to allow the civil immigration process to play out independently while criminal charges are pending.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is exactly what they did in this case \u2014 unwittingly to defendant\u2019s benefit in that he will now avoid trial, and any potential conviction and sentence, unless and until he returns to the United States,\u201d the prosecutors said. \u201cTo give defendant a further windfall of being allowed to return to the United States with these charges irrevocably erased from his record would be improper under the law and unfair given the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n The prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could refile charges in the future.<\/p>\n The judge has yet to issue a ruling.<\/p>\n Butler and MacCabe said they have \u201cworked countless hours to pursue criminal convictions and sentences in this case\u201d and \u201cremain eager to prosecute defendant for his crimes and vindicate his victims\u2019 \u2014 who unabashedly share that desire \u2014 interests.\u201d<\/p>\n In a declaration, MacCabe said prosecutors believed Flores was a lawful permanent resident \u201cand that he would continue to live and work in the United States while awaiting trial.\u201d<\/p>\n In his motion, Robertson described his client as \u201ca permanent lawful resident of the United States residing in the Central District of California for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an email that Flores\u2019 criminal history \u201cincludes sexual battery, threatening with intent to terrorize burglary, vandalism, robbery, and more.\u201d She said Flores entered the U.S. in 2001 as a legal permanent resident, but \u201cbecame removable as an alien due to his criminal convictions.\u201d ICE deported Flores on Dec. 28, she said. <\/p>\n \u201cUnder President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n But as federal prosecutors pointed out in their motion, if convicted Flores could have still. been deported after serving a lengthy sentence in prison.<\/p>\n She did not immediately respond to a question about whether Flores could be extradited to face charges in the future.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney\u2019s office in L.A. referred The Times to MacCabe and Butler\u2019s court filing.<\/p>\n Flores was one of five suspects arrested last year. Two are still at large.<\/p>\n Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor in L.A. who now serves as a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said \u201cordinarily you would not deport somebody you were going to prosecute unless it was pursuant to some kind of agreement that would resolve the case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOrdinarily the prosecutors would be aware if their defendant who is set for trial is being deported,\u201d Levenson said. \u201cThis is a definite problem in communication and coordination.\u201d<\/p>\n Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said while a deportation in a serious federal crime pending trial should not happen, it sometimes has.<\/p>\n \u201cThe right hand does not know what the left hand is doing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Lou Shapiro, a federal defense attorney, said \u201cit is extremely rare for a defendant to escape years of prison by getting deported during the case proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s baffling because ICE and the prosecuting agency are both under the DOJ umbrella,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In June, the seven men from the Los Angeles area, ranging in age from 31 to 60, were indicted on theft and conspiracy to commit theft charges<\/a> for their alleged roles in the crime, which victimized 14 jewelers whose merchandise the big rig was transporting. <\/p>\n Prosecutors have accused the men of breaking into the Brinks semi truck during a 27-minute window at a Flying J truck stop, as one guard grabbed food at a gas station and the other slept in the cab. At the time, the jewelry was in transport from an international jewelry show.<\/p>\n The co-conspirators, some of whom use aliases, are Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, Jazael Padilla Resto, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, Jorge Enrique Alban, Eduardo Macias Ibarra and Flores.<\/p>\n