INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Five Venezuelan migrants living in Chicago have been charged in connection with an Aug. 10 armed robbery at an Indianapolis jewelry store where authorities say employees were restrained and more than $2 million in jewelry, precious metals and cash was stolen.
The case has expanded since the five were captured following a three-county pursuit on Interstate 65. Court filings describe a planned operation using two vehicles with Illinois plates, a transfer point near the store and instructions to return quickly to Chicago.
Investigators also allege the suspects had ties to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization. The gang connection is an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched at about 12:55 p.m. Aug. 10 to King Jewelers in the 4900 block of South Emerson Avenue on the city’s southeast side.
Investigators said armed robbers entered the business and restrained the owner and manager with duct tape while taking jewelry, precious metals and about $65,000 in cash. Police said no one inside the store was injured.
The suspects allegedly loaded the stolen property into a blue 2007 Acura with an Illinois license plate and drove to a nearby dollar store. Investigators later found the Acura abandoned near a Dollar Tree.
Court filings said the vehicle appeared unusually clean and contained little evidence other than a screwdriver. Surveillance video showed people from the Acura transferring into a gold 2009 Toyota Camry, also bearing an Illinois plate.
Police circulated information about the Camry to other agencies, and authorities used license-plate-reading cameras and other technology to track it north on Interstate 65.
Indiana State Police and officers in Boone County located the vehicle near Lebanon, roughly 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. The driver did not stop, authorities said, beginning a pursuit that continued into Clinton County.
Troopers eventually used a pursuit intervention maneuver to disable the Camry. Five people then ran from the vehicle, according to police.
Officers surrounded the area and searched with drones, police dogs and an Indiana State Police helicopter. All five were captured.
Investigators searching the damaged Camry reported finding several bags containing what authorities described as most, if not all, of the merchandise and cash taken from the jewelry store.
The adult defendants were identified as Freibrth Adrian Jose Perreira, 31; Oneiver Alfonso Sambrano Garcia, 20; and Jonnder David Mercedes Martinez, 31.
Two teenagers, Emanuel David Gonzalez Mendez, 16, and Angel Jose Pinto Guerrero, 17, have also been charged as adults in Marion County.
Gonzalez Mendez and Pinto Guerrero face felony counts including armed robbery, criminal confinement and resisting law enforcement, along with unlawful handgun possession allegations.
The three older defendants were initially arrested on preliminary armed robbery allegations, and authorities later said formal charges had been filed against all five.
They remained held without bond after initial court proceedings. Prosecutors have not publicly established that every defendant played the same role in the robbery, and allegations contained in police reports and charging documents have not been tested at trial.
Detectives said interviews with the adult suspects provided additional details about how the robbery was allegedly organized.
Martinez told investigators he drove the Toyota Camry and had traveled from Chicago to Indianapolis the night before the robbery, according to court filings. He said he stayed at a motel in nearby Beech Grove and was instructed to wait near a dollar store the next day.
Martinez told investigators he had been offered $60,000 to serve as a driver and had received specific directions about where and when to meet the others.
Garcia allegedly told police he drove the Acura carrying Perreira and the two teenagers to King Jewelers. Garcia said he had been offered $10,000 to drive them to the store and then to the vehicle-transfer location after the robbery.
According to investigators, the group intended to head north toward Chicago after switching vehicles.
Garcia told detectives that after the stolen property was transferred to Martinez’s Camry, the group was instructed to return to Chicago as quickly as possible.
At least one suspect told investigators the plan included disposing of the getaway vehicle and stolen merchandise after reaching the Chicago area.
A witness described the transfer between vehicles as hurried but coordinated. The Illinois license plates on both vehicles and statements attributed to the suspects gave investigators a direct Chicago connection to the case.
Court filings described the five as Venezuelan migrants who had been living in Chicago. Authorities have not publicly detailed how long each defendant had lived there or whether investigators believe additional people in Chicago helped plan the robbery.
The court records also contain allegations involving Tren de Aragua.
Martinez told police that those involved were connected to the Venezuelan gang and claimed he participated after threats were made against him and his family, according to filings describing his interview.
Police said Garcia became less cooperative when detectives pressed him for more details. Perreira allegedly told investigators that the participants knew what they were doing, though authorities said he later placed more responsibility on the two teenagers.
Investigators have not publicly announced independent evidence proving that each defendant belongs to Tren de Aragua.
The gang originated in Venezuela and has been linked by federal prosecutors to murder, robbery, kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and money laundering. The U.S. government has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Indianapolis allegations come as federal and local authorities have increased investigations into crimes attributed to Tren de Aragua and other organized groups operating across state lines.
Law enforcement agencies have alleged that some groups use networks of drivers, temporary lodging, multiple vehicles and rapidly changing locations to carry out robberies and move stolen property.
In this case, police say the suspects arrived from Chicago, used a motel outside Indianapolis, deployed two vehicles and headed back toward Illinois shortly after the robbery.
Authorities have not said whether they believe the King Jewelers robbery was ordered by a larger organization or whether anyone beyond the five people in custody will face charges.
Investigators also have not disclosed whether the stolen goods were intended for specific buyers or resale markets.
Police have linked two of the defendants to a separate investigation outside Indiana.
Authorities said Perreira and Gonzalez Mendez were connected to a June 6 home robbery in New Jersey. Officials have not publicly described the evidence tying them to that case in detail or said whether the New Jersey investigation will affect the timing of the Indianapolis prosecutions.
The allegation adds another interstate element as detectives examine the suspects’ movements before the King Jewelers robbery.
Investigators are also reviewing evidence from the jewelry store, the abandoned Acura, the Camry, surveillance systems, license-plate readers and interviews.
No public filing has established whether investigators recovered firearms allegedly used inside the store or whether forensic testing of the vehicles has produced additional evidence.
King Jewelers said after the robbery that its employees and customers were safe and that the business was cooperating with law enforcement.
The owners said they were grateful no one had been hurt and had taken additional security measures, while declining to discuss details of the investigation.
The robbery unfolded in a commercial area near South Emerson Avenue and East Thompson Road, but the police response quickly stretched far beyond Indianapolis as the suspects moved north.
By the time the pursuit ended in Clinton County, officers from several jurisdictions were involved.
The arrests brought the immediate search to a close, but the case shifted into a court process involving evidence from multiple counties, two states and defendants of different ages.
The decision to charge Gonzalez Mendez and Pinto Guerrero as adults places their cases in Marion Superior Court rather than limiting proceedings to juvenile court.
Both teenagers are accused of participating directly in the robbery, according to court records. Their charges include allegations tied to the confinement of people inside King Jewelers and the flight from officers after the interstate pursuit.
The three adult defendants are being prosecuted separately within the same broader investigation.
Initial hearings have been held, and all five remained in custody without bond in the latest publicly reported court status.
Court proceedings will determine whether prosecutors add, reduce or amend charges as evidence is reviewed and defense attorneys challenge the government’s allegations.
A jury trial for the two teenage defendants is scheduled to begin Nov. 17, according to court information reported after their adult charges were filed.
Additional hearings and filings may occur before that date. Investigators continue to examine the alleged gang connection, the defendants’ travel from Chicago and any possible links to crimes outside Indiana.
Authorities have not announced arrests of additional suspects or said that anyone else has been charged with planning the Indianapolis robbery.
Last updated Aug. 25, 2026.