Crime & Safety

Second Gold Burglar Pleads Guilty

New York Couple Responsible For 37 Thefts In Loudoun, Fairfax

Dagoberto Ramirez-Soto pleaded guilty Sept. 21 to his involvement in a series of burglaries that targeted the gold of people living in Loudoun and Fairfax counties, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. 

On Friday, Melinda Marie Soto, Ramirez-Soto's wife, entered a guilty plea acknowledging that she helped steal at least $500,000 worth of gold and other valuables from homes in the two counties during a spree last year that lasted 11 months, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Soto, 34, pleaded guilty to the crimes before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, who accepted the deal and may sentence the defendant to no more than five years. A grand jury indicted Ramirez-Soto, Soto and an alleged co-conspirator in July. Prior to her plea, Soto failed to win a motion to suppress evidence obtained by prosecutors.

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Court records show Soto and at least two other conspirators—identified as Ramirez-Soto and Francisco Gray—targeted the homes of South Asians living in Northern Virginia, based on the their belief that large amounts of gold would be kept in those homes.

As part of her plea agreement, Soto acknowledged her role in the crimes, telling the judge she booked motel rooms where the conspirators stayed while in Northern Virginia, helped locate names and locations of potential targets, and monitored a police scanner while her associates entered the homes. The property was then transported to New York and sold.

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With the plea, Ramirez-Soto forgoes the trial set for Oct. 4. Gray remains a fugitive.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, the Fairfax County Police Department and the FBI's Washington Field Office investigated the crimes.


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