Three arrested, one sought in $100K Sherburne County home burglary

Four people have been charged after two men broke into a Sherburne County home Dec. 18 and stole a safe containing more than $100,000.

According to court documents, a woman was asleep in the home in the 10800 block of 305th Avenue NW in Baldwin Township when the two men broke in, likely through an unlocked rear garage door. Video surveillance shows the pair leaving the home, one carrying the safe and the other with a pistol, shortly before 8 a.m.

The homeowner identified one of the men as a former employee, Brandon M. Garcia-Becerril, 22, of Minneapolis. Garcia-Becerril has been charged with two felony counts of first-degree burglary, one felony count of theft and one felony count of illegally possessing a firearm.

Investigators said they believe he has likely fled to Mexico, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Three other suspects have been arrested and charged. Yonathan J. Gamboa Zambrano, 31, of Minneapolis was charged with two felony counts of first-degree burglary and one of theft. Carlos A. Veloz-Garcia, 21, of Coon Rapids and Jennifer D. Barrera Henriquez, 21, of St. Paul were both charged with three felony counts related to aiding and abetting the crime.

According to the criminal complaints filed in Sherburne County District Court, the homeowner told investigators that Garcia-Becerril had recently asked him for money after being charged with a gun-related crime. The investigation showed Garcia-Becerril had a girlfriend, Barrera Henriquez, and had recently spent time with Veloz-Garcia.

Investigators found Veloz-Garcia rented a truck from Enterprise on Dec. 17 and returned it the next day with the recorded mileage similar to what the “amount of miles a round trip to the [burglarized] residence and back” would be, documents state. The vehicle’s GPS also showed the truck in the general vicinity of the burglarized home.

Investigators searched the trash at Veloz-Garcia’s residence and found a backpack that appeared to match one from the video from the burglarized house, as well as packaging for a ski mask and one black glove, documents state.

Veloz-Garcia reportedly told officers he “knew the truck he rented was going to be used for a ‘robbery’” and said he was given $30,000 from the safe.

According to the complaint, Barrera Henriquez told officers she drove the truck and knew Garcia-Becerril had “robbed” a former employer. Gamboa Zambrano reportedly said he helped Garcia-Becerril remove the safe from the home; both said they didn’t receive any of the stolen money, documents state.

Multiple people associated with the case told investigators they thought Garcia-Becerril had returned to Mexico. Veloz-Garcia told investigators some money was transferred to Mexican banks for Garcia-Becerril, documents state.

Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Ben Zawacki said that as of Sunday, $36,000 of the missing money has been recovered.