Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Four Chilean men are now facing charges after police pulled them over and found items believed to have been stolen from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home. Investigators had been conducting surveillance on the men prior to their arrest.
WCPO News reports that a Ohio State Highway Patrol officer pulled the four men over for committing a lane violation after investigators witnessed them leaving a La Quinta Inn carrying luggage. During the traffic stop, three of the men gave the officer fake IDs. It was later discovered that the four men, eventually identified as Jordan Sanchez, Bastian Morales, Sergio Cabello and Alexander Chavez, were in the country illegally.
Inside their vehicle, police found an old LSU t-shirt and Bengals hat believed to have been stolen from Joe Burrow’s home. Investigators also identified the tool as being used by a South American theft group to break glass and enter homes. Burrow’s home was entered through a bedroom window that had been shattered.
A search warrant conducted on one of Sanchez’s phones revealed he was in the area of Burrow’s home at the time of the burglary. DNA found on a black bag of tools left at the scene of Joe Burrow’s home burglary also tied two of the four suspects to the crime scene.
According to WLWT News, court documents state the four men flew from Los Angeles to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, rented a car, drove to Joe Burrow’s home and burglarized it. Detectives said they then committed the same crime in Carmel, Indiana and Shelbyville, Indiana. Stolen jewelry from both Indiana burglaries was recovered during the traffic stop.
All four men were charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, participation in a criminal gang, possessing criminal tools and obstructing official business.
In December, the FBI officially issued a warning to American pro athletes about “organized theft groups” from South America targeting their homes for burglaries. In addition to Joe Burrow, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Linval Joseph, Kansas City Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, NBA players Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley and Bobby Portis, and Dallas Star hockey player Tyler Seguin had their home broken into while they were playing in games.