Police arrested Colombian nationals in Oregon in connection with dozens of home burglaries | Law Enforcement Today

TIGARD, OR - Authorities have announced that four Colombian nationals have been arrested following a recent string of home burglaries. According to Fox News, the Tigard Police Department (TPD) confirmed that the arrests were in connection with 39 burglary cases targeting what appeared to be affluent Asian-American households beginning in September 2024.

Investigators said that the suspects used a similar break-in method each time. In November 2024, a warning was sent out alerting residents across three jurisdictions of the home burglaries that were taking place, including four in Tigard, four in Washington County, and two in Beaverton. 

On February 2nd, search warrants were executed in Oregon City, Bend, and Portland, all related to this investigation. The first was in Oregon City where TPD, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team, and many other agencies served a warrant in an apartment complex in the 14100 block of South Beavercreek Road. 

The second was in Bend where Bend police and the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team executed a warrant in an apartment complex in the 55000 block of Gross Drive. During those searches, investigators recovered cash, evidence, and stolen jewelry as well as the seizure of multiple vehicles. 

Four suspects, all of whom are Colombian nationals, were arrested by TPD on felony charges. All four were extradited back to Washington County. They have been identified as: 30-year-old Herbert Grueso-Vergara, 26-year-old Maria Castro-Gamboa, 29-year-old Fabio Vergara-Cortes, and 33-year-old Fatima Gomez-Aragon. 

According to KTVZ21, Kelsey Anderson, a spokesperson with TPD said, "You don't get wins a lot, when it comes to investigating like a series of home burglaries, but we consider this a win." All four suspects were living in various locations throughout the Portland metro area. Anderson said, "We believe they would stay in the Portland area and travel to other parts of the state to commit these crimes."

An additional warrant was served on February 5th, by the TPD, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), and PPB's Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of North Bristol Avenue. Stolen jewelry and other evidence linked to the investigation were also recovered at that location. This is an ongoing investigation and authorities expect more charges to be filed. 

Anderson said, "As the investigation continues, it is likely that additional charges will be filed, and additional arrests could be made." Bend Police Communications Manager Shelia Miller said in a statement, "At this point, we're still investigating to see if we have cases. We're looking to see if there are connections to any incidents in our area."

TPD said multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in sharing information or executing the search warrants: the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Oregon City Police, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the Washington County District Attorney's Office, Beaverton Police, Hillboro Police, Gresham Police, Eugene Police, the Portland Police Bureau, and in Washington state, Lynwood Police and the Snohomish County Washington's Sheriff's Office.