Robbery Crew Leader Arrested For Asian-Targeted Home Invasions

MILTON, GA — A woman from Texas was recently found guilty for leading several robbery crews across the United States, including in Milton, that targeted those of Asian descent.

A federal jury in Michigan found Chaka Castro, 44, of Houston, Texas, guilty of a nine-count indictment for her role as the leader of several robbery crews that traveled all over the United States in order to conduct home invasions of families of Indian and Asian descent.

After a four-week trial, Castro was convicted of one count of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act Conspiracy, four counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering and four counts of Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, the Department of Justice said.

Sentencing is scheduled for September before U.S. District Court Judge Laurie J. Michelson of the Eastern District of Michigan, who presided over the trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2011 to 2014, Castro and her robbery crews committed a string of home invasions in Georgia, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Texas. Castro led the groups and who would generate lists of robbery targets in various states around the county, specifically families of Asian and Indian ancestry, and then assign crews to carry out the armed robberies of these families within their homes, the Department of Justice said. Once Castro assigned a crew to a particular area, members of the group would travel to that location, conduct surveillance, and execute the robberies.

The crews disguised their appearance with clothing and bandanas so that victims of their robberies would have difficulty identifying them. They would openly carry and brandish firearms to gain control of the victims and then immediately corral the victims, including children, into one location in the home. At least one robber would then restrain the victims with duct tape and threats of violence while a partner would ransack the home in search of cash, jewelry, and electronics to steal, the Department of Justice said. The group organized their trips to involve multiple home invasion robberies over a series of days.

The conviction was the result of a joint federal and state investigation led by the FBI with the assistance of federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service.

Local law enforcement agencies in Georgia, including the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, Cobb County Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department, Duluth Police Department and Milton Police Department; Michigan, including Washtenaw County Sherriff’s Office, Ann Arbor Police Department and Canton Police Department; local law enforcement agencies in Ohio, including Beachwood Police Department; local law enforcement agencies local law enforcement agencies in New York, including Nassau County Police Department; the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies in Texas including Allen Police Department, Coppell Police Department, Flower Mound Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, Lewisville Police Department and Southlake Police Department also provided assistance in the investigation.

Trial Attorneys Marianne Shelvey and Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Detroit, Michigan Field Office made the announcement.