Fourth Defendant in $1.9 Million Multi-County Residential Burglary Ring Sentenced to 61 Years to Life; Ordered to Pay $1.2 Million in Restitution Third-striker recaptured in[...]

Fourth Defendant in $1.9 Million Multi-County Residential Burglary Ring
Sentenced to 61 Years to Life; Ordered to Pay $1.2 Million in Restitution
Third-striker recaptured in Mexico after he skipped out on a combined
$1.2 million bond while awaiting trial in connection with
44 residential burglaries in Orange County and San Bernardino counties
that targeted designer watches and purses, jewelry, guns, and cash.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A third-striker who was recaptured in Mexico as part of an international manhunt for the thief after he skipped out on $1.2 million bond has been sentenced to 61 years to life in state prison for his role in running a multi-county burglary ring responsible for stealing $1.9 million in designer watches and purses, jewelry, guns, and cash in 44 residential burglaries in Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Erick Daniel Soria, now 33, is the fourth defendant sentenced in the rash of residential burglaries that began in Chino Hills in August 2019 and continued in Fullerton, Anaheim Hills, Villa Park, Lake Forest, Yorba Linda, Buena Park, and Irvine through February 2020. Two of the burglaries occurred when residents were home. The fifth and final defendant remains a wanted fugitive.

Soria, a third-striker who was on parole for another residential burglary, was awaiting trial on multiple felonies in connection with the Orange and San Bernardino burglaries in 2021 when Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin denied prosecutors' request to hold Soria without bail. Judge Yellin instead set Soria's bail at $750,000, which he posted, along with a $500,000 bond after pleading guilty in a residential burglary case in Los Angeles County. He then fled to Mexico.

Soria was captured in 2023 by the U.S, Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force and brought back to the United States to face multiple felony charges in connection with the Orange County and San Bernardino County burglary spree.

Soria pleaded guilty in April 2025 to 26 felony counts of first-degree burglary and three felony counts of attempted first-degree burglary. On Monday, he was sentenced to 61 years to life.

A fifth defendant, Alvaro Ramos, also had his bail set at $750,000 in June 2020 by Judge Yellin. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to return to court and he remains a wanted fugitive. Ramos, who is currently on parole for residential burglary and evading police, is facing 125 years in state prison if convicted on all charges.

The District Attorney's AB 109 Task Force, along with the Fullerton, Anaheim, and Buena Park Police Departments, the Orange Sheriff's Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, executed simultaneous search warrants on Friday, May 15, 2020, in Los Angeles County.[1]

Jurandir Endnilson Penate, 24, Erick Daniel Soria, 27, Alvaro Ramos, 37, Eugene Yi, 35, and Sergio Soto, 33, all of Los Angeles, were arrested in the multi-agency operation.

In order to support the efforts of probation which is now responsible for supervising AB109ers and to further protect the residents of Orange County, the Orange County District Attorney's Office created a dedicated task force in 2019 to identify and arrest AB 109ers who commit new crimes.

The AB 109 Crime Impact Task Force, which is housed at the Santa Ana Police Department, is made up of five District Attorney Investigators, one Santa Ana Police Officer, one Orange County Probation Officer, and an Investigative Assistant and a Research Analyst from the District Attorney's Office.

Soto, a second striker with a prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to 22 felony counts of residential burglary, two felony counts of attempted first-degree burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He was sentenced to 18 years in state prison.

Yi, who has one prior strike, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to two felony counts of first-degree burglary, and was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison.

Penate pleaded guilty to 36 felony counts of first-degree burglary, three felony counts of attempted first-degree burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and two misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

"Decriminalizing felonies and providing state prisoners and jail inmates offramp after offramp to get out of custody and back into our neighborhoods has put our communities at significant risk of being victimized by criminals who have been given the overwhelming message that the reward is far greater than the risk," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "This case exemplifies the incredible work of the men and women of Orange County law enforcement, and the collaboration, along with our local and federal partners, to hold criminals accountable and ensuring actions have consequences. These crimes are not victimless crimes, and the victims in these cases can rest assured that we will go to the literal ends of the earth to ensure justice is served."

Deputy District Attorney Katherine Johnson of the Home Invasion and Theft Unit is prosecuting this case.

[1] California Assembly Bill 109 ("AB109") was signed into law in 2011 as part of California's efforts
to reduce the state prison population. It transferred responsibility for many "low level" felons
to local county jails and probation departments.

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