Chilean man convicted in string of home invasions in Michigan

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Apr 30, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DETROIT — A Chilean national was convicted Tuesday for being part of a South American gang behind home invasions and thefts across Michigan, officials said.

Ignacio Antonio Ruiz-Saldias, 29, was found guilty in Oakland County Circuit Court of operating a criminal enterprise and three counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit home invasion, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16 and faces up to 20 years in prison for the criminal enterprise charge and up to 15 years for each count of conspiracy to commit home invasion.

The sheriff's office also said Ruiz-Saldias is the first defendant suspected to be part of a South American gang that targeted homes in affluent neighborhoods to be tried in Oakland County.

"I am proud of the teamwork and the effort that brought this case to a close with a conviction," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. "I hope it sends a clear message to the transnational gangs that there are consequences for criminal behavior in Oakland County. I thank the prosecutors from Attorney General Nessel’s office for their successful court work."

Ruiz-Saldias' attorney was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Authorities accused the defendant of being a member of a group of South thieves who struck eight homes in Oakland Township, Rochester Hills, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe and Ada Township near Grand Rapids.

They said the group stole cash, jewelry, and expensive handbags worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from the homes between Feb. 3 and Feb. 17, 2023.

Officials said the defendant and four others were arrested in March 2023 in Carmel, Indiana. Detectives from law enforcement agencies in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan worked together to find that the group was behind thefts in their jurisdictions.

Investigators also said three defendants are in Ohio police custody awaiting extradition to Michigan.

In December, a female Chilean national suspected in a Novi home invasion and accused of entering the country illegally was charged.

The previous month, Novi police said they believed a South American gang was behind a month-long series of home break-ins in the community.

Last April, Bouchard said his investigators believed a group of burglars from Colombia and Venezuela were targeting high-end Oakland County homes.

Six months before that, he warned that a group of thieves from Chile was targeting high-end, upscale homes in Oakland County.

In December 2023, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office announced that it was teaming up with the Michigan Attorney General's Office to target transnational gangs involved in high-end burglaries in Oakland County, where some thefts had netted up to $4 million in cash and jewelry.

-------------