A second defendant pleaded guilty Wednesday, April 29, to a conspiracy charge after a string of home burglaries targeting Asian business owners in Oregon and Washington.

William Estiven Rodriguez-Gaviria, a 26-year-old Colombian national, will be deported after serving a sentence to be determined at a July 14 hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said Wednesday.

Rodriguez-Gaviria admitted to conspiring with others in connection with four burglaries or attempted burglaries that took place over a seven-day span last October, including a burglary of a home in Eugene. 

Prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 12 months and a day in prison after negotiations with Rodriguez-Gaviria, Assistant U.S. Attorney William McLaren said. 

If a sentence at least that long is imposed, the Lane County District Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence not exceeding 10 months to run alongside the federal prison sentence should Rodriguez-Gaviria be convicted on state charges, McLaren said.

Seven men, all Colombian nationals, have been indicted in connection with the burglaries, though only four are in custody. McLaren said last month the three others are “not in this country nor likely to return.”

Jhon Alexander Quintero pleaded guilty March 31 to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods. Quintero’s sentencing hearing is set for June 30.

Rodriguez-Gaviria pleaded guilty to an identical charge, and in court Wednesday admitted to packaging stolen property.

A criminal complaint 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.

Total losses “exceeding $40,000” and the “sophisticated means” used in the burglaries were factors in the sentencing recommendation for Rodriguez-Gaviria, McLaren said.

Eugene police executed a search warrant the night of Oct. 9 at an Airbnb on Skyline Boulevard in Eugene, arresting the seven suspects. All seven eventually posted security and were released from jail.

Court documents list Rodriguez-Gaviria as being taken into custody by immigration authorities, and he made an initial court appearance in Arizona before being transferred to Oregon.