Four-month Investigation Leads to Arrest of Transnational Burglar
By F. Scott Faulkner
November 16, 2025 – Ventura County, CA
A summer residential break-in burglary in Thousand Oaks set off a months-long investigation
that has ultimately led to the arrest of Jose Jean Cuervo Cardenas, 30, of Los Angeles.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Richard LaSecia, Cardenas is
“now linked to multiple burglaries” across Ventura County and is suspected to be part of “a
Transnational Organized Crime group.”
Deputies first responded on August 7, to a home in Thousand Oaks after residents
discovered someone had forced their way inside and stolen property. According to investigators,
“the crime itself occurred a week earlier,” as determined by “covert surveillance.”
Detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff’s East County Investigations Bureau dug into the
case, and pinpointed Cardenas as a suspect, prompting a wider look at similar unsolved break-ins
scattered across the county.
The investigation gained momentum on October 9, when detectives “conducted surveillance”
on Cardenas as he traveled to Orange County with two men later identified as Fabio Andres
Cuervo Cardenas and Isaias Cuervo Cardenas.
Working in concert with the Orange County Sheriff’s North Directed Enforcement Team, investigators “observed the trio casing a home.”
The next day, the three men returned to the neighborhood, and as they committed another
residential burglary, they were nabbed by deputies and taken into custody.
Ventura County detectives continued piecing together evidence that has connected Cardenas to
nine residential burglaries reported this year in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo and Somis.
Each of the incidents was documented during 2025 and shared a similar pattern of forced entry
and stolen property.
On November 10, Cardenas was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was charged with
nine counts of residential burglary and one count of criminal conspiracy. He remains in custody
on a no-bail hold.
