Burglary ringleader whose been deported twice sentenced to 37 years

PLANO, Texas - A man from Honduras who has been deported from the United States twice received a 37-year prison sentence for a string of burglaries in Collin County.

Sergio Cardenas-Salinas pleaded guilty recently to leading a criminal burglary operation targeting gold, jewelry, and cash.

He and eight others were arrested last year after being linked to nearly a dozen high-profile burglaries in cities like Plano, Prosper, and McKinney.

Prosecutors said they targeted mostly immigrant families because they believed they kept more of their cash and other valuables in their homes.

"They were targeting them," said Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis.

Willis said Cardenas-Salinas' group was based in Houston. It consisted of nine crew members from Central and South America.

"Here we've got Venezuela, Honduras, and Guatemala," he said. "You know, it's alarming to think that someone who's been twice deported can come back over and be the ringleader of organized crime right here in Collin County."

The group allegedly drove to Collin County to target residents of Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern descent, believing they were easy targets.

"And kept extra amounts of cash and valuables in their homes," Willis said.

One victim who did not want to share his name or show his face on camera immigrated from India in 2017.

He had his apartment in Plano broken into and about $20,000 worth of items were stolen.

"But unfortunately, as soon as I stepped into my house, the whole house is upside down," he said. "So that really frightened us."

In total, 10 families were victimized in Collin County before Plano police detectives used security footage to identify two suspect vehicles.

The group was arrested in September of last year.

"Well, there's a certain cruel irony there. I mean, we have legal migrants and citizens here contributing to Collin County that have come to our country for safety. They've come to our country for opportunity. And now they've got somebody who has no respect for the law, never should have been here in the first place, being a ringleader and exploiting them, and harming them and stealing from them," Willis said.

Cardenas-Salinas was the first to go to trial.

"We put this all in front of a jury. A jury said this man needs to go down for 37 years," Willis said.

There's no word yet on what's next for the other eight suspects.

Cardenas-Salinas is the oldest of the suspects at age 30. The youngest is 19.