Four Chilean men have been arrested in connection with the home burglary of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow that took place in late December.
Court records indicate that a special agent with the Ohio State Highway Patrol noticed suspicious luggage being loaded into a vehicle outside a hotel located in Fairborn, Ohio, ABC News reported.
When the officer later pulled the car over, the four occupants—Alexander Huaiquil-Chavez, Bastian Morales, Jordan Sanchez, and Sergio Cabello—attempted to provide fake identification.
Officers searched the vehicle, which reportedly smelled like marijuana, and discovered “two Husky automatic center punch tools wrapped in a cloth towel behind the glove box,” according to CNN. Such tools are often used to break glass and assist in the burglaries of homes.
Court reports also state that the agent found an “old LSU shirt and Bengals hat believed to be stolen from the December 9, 2024 burglary in Hamilton County, Ohio.”
Although Burrow is not named in the report, his home was burglarized on December 9, and, according to CNN, many of the items discovered in the car would match those stolen from his home.
The four men were then arrested and later “identified as being illegally in the country or overstayed their permission,” per CNN.
Morales was also identified as a “male possibly involved in a burglary offense” and was later seen carrying a Louis Vuitton bag on the day the burglary of Burrow’s home took place, per ABC News.
“This is an ongoing investigation involving multiple burglaries across the United States of America, specifically targeting multi-million dollar residences and your affiant and brother investigators have arrested at least six different South American burglary groups, five of which were Chilean nationals,” stated a criminal complaint, per ABC News.
The four men were taken to Clark County jail and have been in custody since the initial arrest, CNN reported.
Although it is unclear whether these men are linked to burglaries at other athletes’ homes, these incidents have become much more common in recent months.
Increasing burglary attempts prompted the NFL to provide players with a security warning about a suspected South American crime syndicate robbing the homes of athletes.
This security notice informed players that the suspects had targeted athletes across different leagues and were careful about when to target the homes, often waiting for the athletes to travel with a team to attempt the crime.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, multiple professional athletes from Dallas-based teams have been the targets of these attempted burglaries.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic was reportedly targeted in a break-in that resulted in roughly $30,000 worth of jewelry being stolen.
Additionally, Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin’s home was burglarized in early December, though Seguin has not spoken publicly about the incident.