Woman jailed in connection to $160K burglary ring
A woman jailed in Butler County is among four people facing numerous felony charges related to a home burglary ring responsible for more than $160,000 in stolen items.
Monica Coria-Olvera, 45, is in Butler County Prison and facing seven felony counts of burglary, one felony count of corrupt organizations, two felony counts of conspiracy, six felony counts of theft, and misdemeanor counts of theft and criminal mischief.
Online court documents did not list an address for Coria-Olvera. District Judge David Kovach denied bail for her, according to court documents.
Coria-Olvera is one of four co-defendants in the case, which the Pennsylvania State Police’s Organized Crime Unit says began last fall in Allegheny County.
Also charged are Daniel T. Rengifo 30, of East Elmhurst, N.Y., Fredy M. Guerrero-Bernal, 35, of Corona, N.Y., and Ronald H. Aguilar-Barrero, 30, of Lawrenceville, Ga.
The four are charged with a crime spree that eventually spread into Cranberry Township last September, when residents on Scarlet Peak Court reported their home had been broken into and ransacked.
The family reported jewelry and a cell phone were taken, valued at $1,000, according to court documents. Two witnesses reported seeing a black SUV parked at the residence.
Police noted similarities to burglaries reported days earlier in Allegheny County. The homes were broken into using a prybar to force open a rear door and an SUV, later identified as a 2017 Nissan Murano, was seen.
According to court documents, homes in Upper St. Clair, Mount Lebanon, Whitehall, Wexford and Sewickley were burglarized. In those break-ins, doors were pryed open while the residents were away, and items such as cash, coins, electronics and jewelry were taken, police said. One homeowner reported $90,000 worth of items had been stolen.
All told, six break-ins were reported in the span of a few days. The total taken was worth $168,000, according to police reports.
Municipal police agencies worked together to determine that all incidents involved a black Nissan Murano with Florida plates, according to court documents. That vehicle had been rented through an agency in Florida by a Julia Franco Cordoba, who used a Venezuelan driver’s license and Bank of America credit card.
In early October, police in St. Louis investigated a series of incidents involving suspects fitting the description of the Pennsylvania break-ins. They arrested three individuals — Coria-Olvera, Guererro-Bernal and a third person, identified in court document as John Alexander Gonzalez Angel.
At the same time, Kovach issued warrants for Bank of America records under Cordoba’s name.
Surveillance footage from Allegheny and Butler counties allegedly shows Coria-Olvera making deposits in various ATMs using the card registered to Cordoba. She appeared to be accompanied by the men arrested in St. Louis, with police there confirming their identities, according to court documents.
An Allegheny County magistrate also issued a warrant for information from the car rental agency, where surveillance video allegedly showing Coria-Olvera renting a vehicle in Missouri using Cordoba’s identification.
Investigators, in court documents, also say an unnamed “Source of Information” further confirmed the identities of the four defendants, “as the active participants in this organization committing the burglaries involved in this investigation,” according to the affidavit.
Chuck Mascellino, Cranberry police sergeant, said Coria-Olvera was first identified as the suspect in the case, leading to charges being filed. Law enforcement officials reached a consensus to file the charges in Butler, he said.
Coria-Olvera was transported back to Butler County from St. Louis by officers from Cranberry Township and Allegheny County. She faces 24 charges, including being an employee of a corrupt organization, seven counts of burglary, seven counts of theft by unlawful taking and seven counts of criminal mischief property damage. She is being held in Butler County Prison on a no-bond stipulation, and is awaiting a formal arraignment May 15.
Meanwhile, charges against Rengifo, Aguilar-Barrero and Guerrero-Bernal were filed April 24 in Kovach’s office. They each face 30 charges, including corrupt organizations, burglary, theft, and criminal mischief.
