Photo: Courtesy of Middlesex Country District Attorney's Office
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Four people were arrested and charged in connection with a large scale burglary ring, authorities announced Friday.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said the thefts were "very sophisticated" and targeted South Asian and Indian homes across Massachusetts based on their ethnicity, with the belief that those homes would be more likely to "contain precious metals, jewelry and other valuable heirlooms."
The suspects were identified as brothers Jovan Lemon, 29, of Providence, Rhode Island and Paul Lemon, 30, of Warwick, Rhode Island; their father Paul Miller, 46, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island; and Steven Berdugo, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island. The group is believed to part of a violent Providence-based gang, according to police.
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The suspected burglars are believed to have committed 43 break-ins across more than two dozen Massachusetts towns between 2018 and 2024, officials said. The impacted communities were Billerica, Boxborough, Carlisle, Easton, Hopkinton, Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, Andover, Bellingham, Boxford, Franklin, Hudson, Littleton, Medway, Middleton, Millis, North Attleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Seekonk, Sharon, Southborough, Wenham, and Westwood.
The property reported stolen totaled more than $4 million in gold, diamonds, gems, jewelry, large amounts of cash, and other valuables.
1 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Middlesex Country District Attorney's Office
2 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Middlesex Country District Attorney's Office
3 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Middlesex Country District Attorney's Office
Ryan said the suspects gathered information on their targets to know when they would not be home and were "disciplined in concealing their identity, avoiding alarms and minimizing cell phone use before, during and after the breaks and using Wi-Fi jammers."
The arrests came after a nine-month investigation involving the Middlesex County DA's office and Massachusetts State Police, Ryan said. Authorities recovered some of the stolen items and also found lists of temple memberships and GPS trackers.
Ryan said police were working to notify the victims.
The defendants face 95 counts of unarmed burglary and breaking and entering a dwelling house in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, officials said.
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