On December 26, 2023, the Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) arrested and charged Ángel Alejandro Rojas Morales, 20, with two felony counts of burglary of a dwelling. One count of criminal mischief for less than $1,000, one count of grand theft ($10,000 less than $20,000), and one count of tampering with a public service utility fixture.
- On December 26, 2023, the Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) arrested and charged Ángel Alejandro Rojas Morales, 20, with two felony counts of burglary of a dwelling. One count of criminal mischief for less than $1,000, one count of grand theft ($10,000 less than $20,000), and one count of tampering with a public service utility fixture.
- PSLPD detectives arrived at the scene and took over the investigation.
- The investigation revealed that Rojas-Morales was part of a South American Theft Group (SATG) that targets the residences of Asian business owners while they are not home.
- From Texas, Rojas Morales traveled to New York, where he met Vega-Perea.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department received a report of a residential burglary involving the theft of a safe containing $10,000 in cash and several pieces of jewelry.
The investigation began on November 27, 2023, when the Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) received information about a residential burglary in the 600 block of SW Addie St., where a safe with $10,000 in cash and several pieces of jewelry was stolen. A witness interrupted the burglary and was able to provide a description of the five suspects and two suspicious vehicles, including a black Kia Sedona, to responding officers.
PSLPD detectives arrived at the scene and took over the investigation.
Through relentless follow-up and in conjunction with the South Florida Task Force, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Doral Police Department’s General Investigations Unit, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Theft Detection Team, several additional suspicious vehicles were positively identified, and mobile surveillance of these vehicles was conducted.
On December 5, 2023, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Theft Detection Team was conducting mobile surveillance on several vehicles, including the Kia Sedona used in the Port St. Lucie burglary. While conducting surveillance, they discovered that a residential burglary was taking place in the 9900 block of NW 25th Terrace in Doral, FL. They witnessed the involvement of a total of seven suspects in the organized burglary.
Three suspects forcibly entered the residence (Camilo Andrés Charria Cardona, 24; Jarol Duván Zuluaga León, 27; and Kevin Santiago Cruz Carrera, 22) while the driver of the Kia, 28-year-old Charley Andrey Vega-Perea, waited in the Kia. The other three suspects, Kevin Yesid Zuluaga, 28; Paula Vanessa Echavarría Cruz, 25; and Ángel Alejandro Rojas Morales, acted as lookouts in various areas of the neighborhood.
Once the burglary was completed and both vehicles were in the same area along with the seven suspects, the takedown order was given. All seven suspects were detained and subsequently charged.
PSLPD detectives continued their investigation and traveled to Doral, FL, once these suspects were in custody.
The investigation revealed that Rojas-Morales was part of a South American Theft Group (SATG) that targets the residences of Asian business owners while they are not home.
The group uses counter-surveillance, hidden GPS trackers, hidden video surveillance cameras, and radio jammers to disrupt and/or obstruct police communications during burglaries.
Rojas Morales was a friend of Cardona in Colombia, and Cardona asked Rojas Morales to come to the United States. Rojas Morales illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico into Texas in early 2023.
From Texas, Rojas Morales traveled to New York, where he met Vega-Perea.
Then, the crew traveled to Florida where they joined other Colombian immigrants and began committing burglaries in South Florida as part of an organized group. Rojas-Morales was directly involved in the Port St. Lucie burglary and confessed to stealing the safe from the home.
PSLPD detectives continue to investigate additional suspects in an effort to develop probable cause for their arrests.
Police Chief Richard Del Toro stated: “The city of Port St. Lucie is not immune to the national problem of illegal immigration that results in innocent citizens becoming victims of crime.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department will vigorously investigate these types of crimes and relentlessly pursue all suspects involved and bring them to justice.”
Rojas-Morales is currently detained in the St. Lucie County Jail under an ICE hold.
Image: Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD)
