Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge for his role in a $100 million jewelry heist, KFI AM 640 reported.
The 32-year-old Pasadena man is expected to enter a plea to a single count of interference with commerce by robbery.
Court papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show the charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The conviction also involves a period of supervised release and restitution.
The July 10, 2022, robbery targeted a Brinks semi-trailer truck leaving an international jewelry show in San Mateo. Mestanza and his co-defendants scouted the vehicle carrying 73 bags of valuables.
The conspirators tracked the truck nearly 300 miles northward to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec. Authorities state the suspects stole two dozen bags containing nearly $100 million in gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and watches while the vehicle stopped in Lebec.
Prosecutors outline a string of cargo thefts preceding the Brinks truck robbery. On March 2, 2022, the group allegedly stole $240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate shipment in Ontario.
A box truck driver in a separate incident was robbed of $57,377 worth of Apple AirTags after a robber brandished a knife. The defendants also attempted a crowbar break-in at a Fontana rest stop on May 25, 2022, before successfully stealing $14,081 in Samsung electronics from another Fontana shipment.
Following a public federal indictment in June 2025, court documents show Mestanza searched the internet for information on fugitives wanted by police, Interpol, and Ecuadorian authorities. He traveled through Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and Canada.
Panama law enforcement intercepted Mestanza on July 1, 2025, at the international airport in Panama City during a layover from Guatemala to Ecuador. Three co-defendants face a March trial in downtown Los Angeles, while law enforcement searches for two remaining suspects and a seventh defendant has been deported.
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