Two Colombian nationals face burglary charges and deportation following a two-year investigation into a residential burglary in Palm Coast that authorities say was part of a pattern of crimes targeting Asian business owners.
Brothers Juan Sebastian Moyano Gonzalez, 20, and Juan Camilo Moyano Gonzalez, 18, were located and arrested in Jacksonville through coordination between the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after warrants were issued for their arrest on November 7.
The Original Burglary Investigation
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office General Assignment Unit began investigating the case after deputies responded to a home on Farver Lane on October 4, 2023, for a reported burglary. The victims told deputies that someone had broken into their home while they were at work, stealing multiple items, including cash, jewelry, and several wallets. The investigation revealed evidence of forced entry.
With assistance from the Real Time Crime Center, detectives identified a suspect vehicle, which they later determined was also connected to crimes in St. Johns County that targeted Asian business owners.
Tracking Device Connection
The suspect vehicle was later linked to the Moyano Gonzalez brothers. The brothers were also connected to a Tallahassee Police Department stalking case involving an Asian business owner who was tracked using an Apple AirTag linked to a subscriber account owned by the brothers’ father, Hector Suarez.
Further investigation revealed the brothers used tracking devices to conduct surveillance on Asian business owners and their employees before burglarizing their homes. A forensic analysis of Juan Sebastian Moyano Gonzalez’s cell phone showed he had been conducting searches for Asian-owned businesses. The exact location of the victims’ residence was found in a conversation on his phone that occurred prior to the burglary.
“The use of tracking devices to target Asian business owners appears to be a nationwide trend over the past few years, with a majority of suspects, who are often in the United States illegally, coming from either Colombia or Chile,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “These suspects thought they could slip into our community unnoticed, commit a crime, and take what wasn’t theirs. But thanks to the relentless work of our deputies and detectives, our Real Time Crime Center, digital forensics technology and the assistance of our law enforcement partners, they’re behind bars where they belong and will ultimately be deported back to Colombia.”
Arrests and Deportation Proceedings
Both brothers were arrested for grand theft over $20,000 and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. They were transferred to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where Juan Sebastian Moyano Gonzalez is being held without bond and Juan Camilo Moyano Gonzalez is being held on $25,000 bond.
The brothers received employment authorization cards to work in the United States in 2024. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office contacted United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which issued ICE detainers on them so they can be deported after their local charges are completed or if they attempt to bond out.
“These two dirtbags are not going anywhere, except to prison or deportation,” Sheriff Staly added.
The case represents what law enforcement describes as a nationwide trend of criminals from South America using tracking technology to target specific ethnic communities for burglaries. The two-year investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies across Florida and utilized digital forensics technology to connect the suspects to crimes in multiple counties.
The arrests demonstrate cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in tracking suspects across jurisdictions. The use of the Real Time Crime Center and forensic analysis of electronic devices proved crucial in building the case against the brothers, allowing investigators to establish patterns of behavior and premeditation in targeting victims.
The immigration status of the suspects adds a federal dimension to the local criminal charges, with ICE detainers ensuring that even if the brothers were to make bond on the local charges, they would remain in custody pending deportation proceedings.
