Beaver Dam burglary, arrests in Grafton; 4 charged, 3 from Colombia
Dominick Luna, Jhon Gonzalez-Caicedo, Wilver Manyoma-Mejia, Andres Mauricio Melvis-Hurtado
TOWN OF GRAFTON, Wis. - The Ozaukee County District Attorney's Office formally charged four men on Thursday, Jan. 29, in connection with a burglary investigation and tactical incident in the Town of Grafton. Three of the men are Colombian nationals.
The suspects are identified as:
- Dominick Luna, 32, Houston, Texas
- Jhon Gonzalez-Caicedo, 27, Colombia
- Wilver Manyoma-Mejia, 42, Colombia
- Andres Mauricio Melvis-Hurtado, 37, Colombia
The Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that all four individuals were charged with concealing stolen property (greater than
$10,000), a Class G felony. Each is currently being held on a $1 million cash bond.
Criminal complaint details
Dig deeper:
The criminal complaint says the four men were arrested early on Jan. 28 at a home they had been staying at in the Town of Grafton. Law enforcement approached the residence around 3:45 a.m., established a perimeter and activated squad lights and sirens in front of the residence. At that time, the complaint says two individuals ran from the residence away from the squads. Officers attempted to apprehend the two suspects who then retreated back into the residence.
Law enforcement made commands to get the occupants of the home to come out. Eventually, three people exited the residence and were taken into custody. A short time later, a fourth individual exited the residence and was taken into custody. The complaint says that fourth person had "insulaion on his clothing." It appeared that the fourth individual "had been hiding in the attic before falling through the drywall into the living room area," the complaint says. When officials looked into the hole in the ceiling, a deputy spotted a "portion of a white plastic bag that was determined to contain a substantial amount of currency that was estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars," the complaint says.
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Investigators searched of the Town of Grafton residence and located the following items:
- A safe in the corner of the basement. The safe door was damaged and opened.
- Several grocery bags containing currency near the safe and HVAC equipment in the basement.
- A piece of paper located in the toilet bowl of the lower-level area bathroom. The paper contained a list of over 30 addresses from various jurisdictions throughout Wisconsin. A deputy contacted the law enforcement agencies in several of these jurisdictions to inquire as to whether any of the residences had been burglarized. The deputy received confirmation that several of the addresses had been burglarized since 2023.
All four men are due back in court on March 2.
Search of Town of Grafton residence
What we know:
During a search of the Town of Grafton residence, investigators recovered a damaged and opened safe, approximately $570,000 in U.S. currency, and jewelry consistent with items stolen during the Beaver Dam burglary. Investigators also discovered a document containing a list of more than 30 addresses located in various jurisdictions throughout Wisconsin.
Follow-up with those jurisdictions determined that at least three of the listed addresses had previously been burglarized, with some incidents dating back to 2023.
Further investigation indicates the group appears to have targeted business owners of Asian descent in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest.
Burglary on Tuesday, arrests Wednesday
The backstory:
The Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office said it was notified late Tuesday night, Jan 27, about a black Dodge with Nebraska license plates that had been involved in a residential burglary in Beaver Dam earlier that night. The suspects stole a "large amount" of cash and jewelry.
Ozaukee County deputies began canvassing the area for that Dodge and, at around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, spotted it in the driveway of a home on Lake Shore Road in the Town of Grafton.
Multiple law enforcement agencies set up a perimeter around the home. The sheriff's office said, after multiple loudspeaker commands directing people to come outside, two suspects ran from the back of the house. Those two suspects retreated back inside after officers confronted them.
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A drone team was called in and, after more announcements from law enforcement, three people came out and were taken into custody without incident. A fourth person later came out and was also taken into custody.
The sheriff's office said a search of the home revealed evidence "directly associated" with the burglary in Beaver Dam. Investigators also determined the home was being used as a short-term vacation rental, which the suspects had rented.
Beaver Dam burglary investigation, arrests in Grafton: sheriff
A Beaver Dam burglary investigation led to the arrests of four people in Ozaukee County early Wednesday morning, Jan. 28.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, and previous FOX6 News coverage.