<p>Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, 27, of New York, who was indicted on July 15, by a federal grand jury for conspiracy, now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on December 3.<br /><br />According to court records, from January to November 2009, Soto-Ramirez and at least two others—his wife, Melinda Marie Soto, 34, and Francisco Gray, 40, both from New York—agreed to travel to Northern Virginia to burglarise residences belonging to Indian-Americans, whom they believed kept large amounts of gold in their homes.<br /><br />In his guilty plea before a Virginia court, Soto-Ramirez admitted that he helped locate names and residences of potential victims, posed as a service man when approaching target residences, and would break into the home if no one answered to search the residence for gold, jewelry, computers, and other property.<br /><br />Soto-Ramirez admitted in court today that he and his conspirators burglarised 37 residences in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties during 2009, stealing property worth more than USD 500,000.<br /><br />They then transported that property to New York, where they sold it. Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy on September 17.<br /><br />Gray remains a fugitive at large. The Indian-American community of the area has expressed satisfaction over the progress of the court case.<br /><br />"I was very happy," Raman Kumar, whose house was burglarised and who attended many of the court hearings, told 'The Washington Post'.</p>
<p>Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, 27, of New York, who was indicted on July 15, by a federal grand jury for conspiracy, now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on December 3.<br /><br />According to court records, from January to November 2009, Soto-Ramirez and at least two others—his wife, Melinda Marie Soto, 34, and Francisco Gray, 40, both from New York—agreed to travel to Northern Virginia to burglarise residences belonging to Indian-Americans, whom they believed kept large amounts of gold in their homes.<br /><br />In his guilty plea before a Virginia court, Soto-Ramirez admitted that he helped locate names and residences of potential victims, posed as a service man when approaching target residences, and would break into the home if no one answered to search the residence for gold, jewelry, computers, and other property.<br /><br />Soto-Ramirez admitted in court today that he and his conspirators burglarised 37 residences in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties during 2009, stealing property worth more than USD 500,000.<br /><br />They then transported that property to New York, where they sold it. Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy on September 17.<br /><br />Gray remains a fugitive at large. The Indian-American community of the area has expressed satisfaction over the progress of the court case.<br /><br />"I was very happy," Raman Kumar, whose house was burglarised and who attended many of the court hearings, told 'The Washington Post'.</p>