Sentencing was handed down Tuesday to two more men convicted of a Troy home invasion — among a group of five men believed to be part of an international crime ring and in the United States illegally.
Their minimum sentences for the felonies could have them released in less than a year, court records show.
At a Nov. 12 hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court, Judge Victoria Valentine sentenced Luis Felipe Camargo, aka Alberto Franco Jimenez, aka Franco Venezolana to 9 months – 15 years for the Aug. 1 daytime break-in on Millay Drive. The other man, Owen Jean Cortes, was sentenced to 12 months – 15 years for the home invasion, and 12 months – 10 years for possession of burglary tools. Both were credited with 103 days — more than three months — already served in the Oakland County Jail.
Camargo, 44, from Mexico, pleaded no contest to second-degree home invasion in September, and prosecutors dismissed a charge of driving with a suspended license. Cortes, 25, from Colombia, also pleaded no contest to his two charges.
The three other men connected to the Troy break-in — Colombians Omar Giovvany Rodriguez-Aponte, Michel Alba Rincon and Geovanny Castellanos-Forero — also opted out of trial by pleading to charges. Rincon and Castellanos-Forero pleaded guilty to second-degree home invasion in August, and were subsequently sentenced by Valentine to nine months to 15 years in prison. Rodriguez-Aponte pleaded no contest to second-degree home invasion in October and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26.
According to the Troy Police Department, the break-in was detected by a homeowner who spotted a masked intruder while watching a security camera set up in his residence. The homeowner was reportedly at work at the time. It was later determined multiple suspects were involved in the home invasion. The Department of Homeland Security has indicated there’s “probable cause to believe (all five) are here (in the United States) illegally,” police said.
Issues with the five men’s immigration status will be handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Another defendant pleads in Troy home invasion case tied to international crime ring
Police: 5 suspects nabbed for home invasion; likely part of international crime ring