QuickTake:

The 48-year-old, one of seven suspects, will probably be deported after serving his sentence, a judge said. Three additional suspects are expected to also plead guilty in the coming weeks. A prosecutor said three others allegedly involved are no longer in the United States.

A 48-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday, March 31, to a conspiracy charge in connection with a string of home burglaries targeting Asian business owners in Oregon and Washington.

Jhon Alexander Quintero admitted guilt in U.S. District Court in Eugene nearly six months after police executed a search warrant Oct. 9 at an Airbnb on Skyline Boulevard in Eugene.

Quintero was among seven Colombian nationals arrested that night, according to police and the U.S. attorney’s office.

But three of the seven suspects are “not in this country nor likely to return,” William McLaren, an assistant U.S. attorney, said during Quintero’s change-of-plea hearing.

Plea negotiations resulted in prosecutors recommending an 18-month prison sentence for Quintero, attorneys said.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods, the same charge faced by others who have been indicted in federal court. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Quintero will “almost certainly” be deported after serving his sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said Tuesday.

A sentencing hearing is set for June 30. Quintero is being held in Douglas County Jail.

Voices within the Asian American community and beyond have expressed concerns about holding suspects accountable for crimes that “created trauma throughout the Asian American community,” as stated previously by the Asian American Council of Oregon.

Community advocates have pointed to more than 20 reported burglaries in Eugene and Springfield dating to late 2023. 

Gavin Bruce, a state Department of Justice bias crime prosecutor, described burglaries targeting Asian American households as a statewide problem at an Oct. 23 forum sponsored by the Asian American Council of Oregon.

Federal prosecutors announced last November they were pursuing federal charges against members of the alleged burglary ring in connection with three October burglaries in Eugene, Salem and Auburn, Washington. Later, prosecutors said they found evidence of an attempted burglary in Gresham.

A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors described how the alleged burglary crew would “rent a short-term rental unit and identity and surveil potential burglary victims at the victims’ respective businesses, which were Asian-owned restaurants or stores.” 

Police and prosecutors have said some of the crimes also involved Wi-Fi jamming equipment to shut down home cameras and a ruse in which a crew member would impersonate a food delivery person.

Quintero is a relative of two of the seven defendants, Marc Friedman, the defense attorney for Quintero, told Lookout after the hearing.

“They were involved, and they are not around any more,” Friedman said.

McShane told Quintero he faces deportation after his sentence.

“Honestly, it is his wish that he be deported as soon as possible,” Friedman said during the hearing.

As the hearing neared an end, Quintero addressed the court.

“In the name of our lord Jesus Christ, I would like to ask forgiveness for the crimes that I caused,” Quintero said before being led away by officials with the U.S. Marshals Service.

Quintero and the others arrested have also been charged with burglary in Lane County Circuit Court.

McLaren said during the hearing he’s spoken with the Lane County District Attorney’s Office about their cases.

Depending on the sentence handed down in federal court, any Lane County sentence could run alongside the federal prison term rather than be added to the federal sentence, McLaren said.

The alleged burglary crew scattered after posting bail to secure their release from Lane County Jail, with advocates rallying to change state rules regarding pretrial conditions for release.

Four of the seven suspects released from jail were at some point detained, at least briefly, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the agency. At least two were taken into custody by ICE officers at the county jail, as shown in Lane County Sheriff’s Office video.

Of the four defendants in custody, two of them — William Estiven Rodriguez-Gaviria and Steven Alexander Quiroga-Solano — have hearings scheduled for April 28 to also enter a change of plea.

Attorneys said the other, Derinson Martinez-Grandas, will have such a change of plea hearing scheduled for May.