Simi Valley Jewelry Heist: Crew Sentenced in $2.5M Burglary
Simi Valley, Calif. – Three members of a crew prosecutors characterized as sophisticated were sentenced last week for their roles in a brazen, multi-million dollar burglary targeting a jewelry store and a coffee shop in May 2025. Heidi Trujillo, 26, received a four-year sentence in Ventura County jail, while Manuel David Ibarra, 38 and Camilo Antonio Aguilar Lara, 32, were each sentenced to four years and four months, according to a release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s office.
The sentences stem from a meticulously planned heist at 5-Star Jewelry & Watch Repair and the adjacent Dr. Conkey’s Candy and Coffee Shop on May 25, 2025. Burglars gained entry to the coffee shop by cutting through the roof, disabling surveillance cameras with spray paint, and then tunneling through a shared wall to access the jewelry store. They ultimately breached multiple safes, making off with jewelry, bullion, cash, and customer heirlooms. A fourth defendant, Sergio Andres Mejía-Machuca, 27, is scheduled for sentencing on March 26, 2026, according to the District Attorney.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko emphasized the complexity of the operation. “The planning, surveillance, and sophistication involved in this case required the defendants’ removal from society,” Nasarenko said in a statement. Edhat.com reported on the District Attorney’s comments.
Investigators found the crew had conducted surveillance at the target locations days before the burglary, even using cell phone flashlights to assess the thickness of the shared wall between the businesses. They were also captured on camera at a Home Depot purchasing rope, further demonstrating the premeditation involved, Fox LA reported.
The financial impact of the burglary was substantial. Jonathan Youssef, the owner of 5-Star Jewelry & Watch Repair, stated the stolen contents of the safe represented the life’s work of his father, Jacoub Youssef, who immigrated to the United States from Egypt in the early 1970s. Youssef estimated losses between $2 million and $2.5 million, and indicated his father had postponed retirement plans as a result of the theft.
Ibarra, Lara, and Mejía-Machuca pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, to felony counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and possession of stolen property. Trujillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess stolen property. All four defendants admitted to special allegations, including losses exceeding $1 million and that the crimes were committed in concert with others, enhancements authorized under Proposition 36. Ibarra and Mejía-Machuca also pleaded guilty to additional charges related to a separate burglary at Simi Valley Pawn Brokers on May 23, 2025, including conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and felony vandalism.
The sentencing of the three defendants leaves the fate of Sergio Andres Mejía-Machuca unresolved, with his sentencing hearing scheduled for later this month. The extent of his involvement and the potential penalty remain to be determined.