A suspect in what federal authorities consider the largest jewelry heist in United States history might avoid a criminal trial because he was deported to Ecuador, bringing further disarray to the victims affected by the multimillion dollar robbery, their lawyer says.
Jeson Nelon Presilla Florespleaded not guilty after prosecutors indicted him and seven others in federal court for the brazen theft of approximately $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches from an armored car in July 2022. Presilla faced up to 15 years in prison, but his deportation in late December, which, according to court filings, occurred without consulting his attorney or federal prosecutors, has temporarily thwarted any potential resolution.
It also has thrown the heist’s victims into further upheaval after enduring three years of financial hardship, according to the jewelry companies’ lawyer, Jerry Kroll. Kroll said he represents more than 40 people, including older, small business owners, who lost their entire livelihoods in the theft.
“They’re in disbelief,” Kroll said of his clients’ reaction to the deportation. “And they want to know how could this happen?”
Presilla, 42, posted a $275,000 bond in late August but before being released, he was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to court records. He is among the thousands of detainees across the country who have been transferred from prisons and jails into ICE custody to fulfill the Trump administration’s vows of mass deportations.
Presilla, a permanent lawful resident living in California for 25 years, was moved to the Adelanto ICE processing center where a judge signed a final order of removal on Dec. 16, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. He was deported to Ecuador, his country of origin, on Dec. 28, McLaughlin said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” McLaughlin wrote.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California declined to comment on the case and any pending arrests.
The Los Angeles Times first reported Presilla’s deportation.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Presilla was among the men who stalked a Brink’s semitruck that was transporting valuable goods after an international jewelry show in San Mateo, a city south of San Francisco, more than two years ago. Presilla and his accomplices trailed the vehicle for 300 miles, court records allege.
The group allegedly broke into the truck at a rest stop in Central California, where they took 24 bags filled with jewelry. The indictment does not detail how the men gained access to the vehicle. Court records say the men then traveled with the stolen goods to East Hollywood and deactivated the cellphones they used in the plot.
Apart from Presilla, two men indicted in the case were released on bond, one was arrested in Panama and extradited to the U.S., and another remains in custody. It is unclear whether the remaining two men have been arrested.
In a Jan. 9 court filing, Presilla’s defense attorney, John D. Robertson, said he had “just learned” of his client’s deportation. Robertson wrote in court records that Presilla is “indigent” and that his transfer to ICE custody had presented “enormous problems for court-appointed Defense counsel” to communicate in preparation for a trial.
Robertson argued that the federal government forwent prosecution by choosing to deport Presilla. Therefore, Robertson motioned for the case against Presilla to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that charges won’t be refiled for the same crime.
“The government cannot now have it both ways,” Robertson wrote.
Federal prosecutors asserted that they did not forgo their case and asked the judge to dismiss the charges against Presilla without prejudice, meaning Presilla would face charges if he returns to the country. Prosecutors said civil immigration processes are supposed to play out independently while criminal charges are pending.
“Those prosecutors remain eager to prosecute defendant for his crimes and vindicate his victims’ — who unabashedly share that desire — interests,” said court documents filed by prosecutors.
A judge is scheduled to rule on the case’s dismissal with or without prejudice in February.
Federal officials said in June that a portion of the stolen jewelry had been found during the execution of a search warrant. It is unclear where that search warrant was executed.
Kroll, the lawyer for the jewelry companies, said some watches were recovered as well as cash, but federal authorities have not disclosed the full audit.
None of the jewelry has been returned to the companies, Kroll said. One of his clients picked up a job washing dishes for a Chinese restaurant after the robbery because “he couldn’t make money because he had nothing left,” Kroll said.
Kroll said Presilla’s deportation means there is one less person who could point authorities to the missing jewelry. Kroll added that, in this case, the federal government’s immigration enforcement agency appeared at odds with the criminal justice proceedings.
“A system failure is what we’re looking at. This should not happen,” Kroll said, adding that the scale of the heist makes the lack of prosecution all the more jarring. “They’re saying it’s $100 million, the largest ever. And he gets to go home.”
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