California
Officials allow suspect in jewelry heist to self deport, avoiding trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal immigration authorities allowed a suspect in a $100 million jewelry heist believed to be the largest in U.S. history to deport himself to South America in December, a move that stunned and upset prosecutors who were planning to try the case and send him to prison.
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven people charged last year with stalking an armored truck to a rural freeway rest stop north of Los Angeles and stealing millions worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches in 2022.
Flores faced up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Flores in late December after he requested voluntary departure, prosecutors said in court filings.
ICE did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Flores’ attorney, John D. Robertson, motioned to dismiss the indictment against his client, asking for the charges to be permanently dropped and the case closed.
Federal prosecutors oppose the motion and say they still hope to bring Flores to trial, asking for charges to be dropped “without prejudice” to keep the door open for criminal prosecution in the future.
Despite Flores being a lawful permanent resident and released on bail, he was taken into ICE custody in September, according to court filings from his defense attorneys. Federal prosecutors say they were unaware Flores had an immigration detainer.
This was a violation of his criminal prosecution rights and warrants his case getting dismissed, Robertson said in his motion.
Flores opted for deportation to Chile during a Dec. 16 immigration hearing, according to court documents. The judge denied his voluntary departure application but issued a final order of removal, and he was sent to Ecuador.
“Prosecutors are supposed to allow the civil immigration process to play out independently while criminal charges are pending,” federal prosecutors wrote in their motion opposing the case dismissal. “That is exactly what they did in this case — unwittingly to defendant’s benefit in that he will now avoid trial, and any potential conviction and sentence, unless and until he returns to the United States.”
What happened to Flores is extremely unusual, especially in a case of this significance, former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson said.
Ordinarily, if a criminal defendant had immigration proceedings against them — which is common — immigration officials would inform prosecutors what was happening. In minor cases, a defendant can sometimes choose to self-deport in lieu of prosecution.
“It’s just beyond me how they would deport him without the prosecutors … being in on the conversation,” Levenson said. “This really was the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing.”
The jewelers who were stolen from are also demanding answers.
“When a defendant in a major federal theft case leaves the country before trial, victims are left without answers, without a verdict, and without closure,” Jerry Kroll, an attorney for some of the jewelry companies, told the Los Angeles Times.
The infamous jewelry heist unfolded in July 2022 after the suspects scouted the Brink’s tractor-trailer leaving an international jewelry show near San Francisco with dozens of bags of jewels, according to the indictment. While the victims reported more than $100 million in losses, Brink’s said the stolen items were worth less than $10 million.
A lawsuit filed by the Brink’s security company said one of the drivers was asleep inside the big rig and the other was getting food inside the rest stop when the thieves broke in.
North Carolina
Report: Chess grandmaster died of abnormal heartbeat from accidental OD
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Daniel Naroditsky, an influential American chess grandmaster who was found dead at his North Carolina home in October at age 29, had multiple drugs in his system at the time and was killed by an abnormal heartbeat caused by an accidental overdose, according to a toxicology report.
Released Tuesday by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, the report said Naroditsky tested positive for methamphetamine and kratom, an opioid-related ingredient that is increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements.
Naroditsky was last known to be alive on Oct. 18 when he accepted a food delivery. He was found dead the next day after missing a flight, according to the report.
Friends went to Naroditsky’s house two days before his death after he appeared to be acting strangely online, and they took away 40 pills of the stimulant Adderall. Investigators later also found bags of kratom in the home, according the report.
Naroditsky was a child prodigy who became a grandmaster, the highest title in chess aside from World Chess Champion, at age 18.
Fellow grandmasters credited him with introducing the sport to a wider audience by livestreaming many of his matches and sharing live commentary on others. Thousands of people regularly tuned in on YouTube and the interactive streaming platform Twitch to watch Naroditsky play.
High-speed competitive speed chess flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a chess community that was soon rife with cheating allegations as players gained access to sophisticated computer programs that could give them an unfair advantage.
Naroditsky was accused of cheating by former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik. He denied the allegations, which were not proven.
In his last livestream before his death, Naroditsky said the allegations had taken a toll on him.
“Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. The issue is just the lingering effect of it,” Naroditsky said.
The International Chess Federation filed a formal complaint against Kramnik in November, accusing him of harassment and insulting the dignity of fellow players.
Kramnik in turn filed a defamation lawsuit against the organization the following month.
In a post Tuesday on the social platform X, he said that Naroditsky’s death was an “immense tragedy” and that in the immediate aftermath, “a cynical smear campaign was launched, unjustly linking me — without any factual basis — to Daniel’s untimely death.”
“After viewing portions of his last stream and despite our existing tensions, I publicly urged Daniel’s friends — on what tragically turned out to be the morning of his death — to look after and seek urgent help for him,” Kramnik added. “Regrettably, those efforts were in vain.”
Officials allow suspect in jewelry heist to self deport, avoiding trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal immigration authorities allowed a suspect in a $100 million jewelry heist believed to be the largest in U.S. history to deport himself to South America in December, a move that stunned and upset prosecutors who were planning to try the case and send him to prison.
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven people charged last year with stalking an armored truck to a rural freeway rest stop north of Los Angeles and stealing millions worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches in 2022.
Flores faced up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Flores in late December after he requested voluntary departure, prosecutors said in court filings.
ICE did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Flores’ attorney, John D. Robertson, motioned to dismiss the indictment against his client, asking for the charges to be permanently dropped and the case closed.
Federal prosecutors oppose the motion and say they still hope to bring Flores to trial, asking for charges to be dropped “without prejudice” to keep the door open for criminal prosecution in the future.
Despite Flores being a lawful permanent resident and released on bail, he was taken into ICE custody in September, according to court filings from his defense attorneys. Federal prosecutors say they were unaware Flores had an immigration detainer.
This was a violation of his criminal prosecution rights and warrants his case getting dismissed, Robertson said in his motion.
Flores opted for deportation to Chile during a Dec. 16 immigration hearing, according to court documents. The judge denied his voluntary departure application but issued a final order of removal, and he was sent to Ecuador.
“Prosecutors are supposed to allow the civil immigration process to play out independently while criminal charges are pending,” federal prosecutors wrote in their motion opposing the case dismissal. “That is exactly what they did in this case — unwittingly to defendant’s benefit in that he will now avoid trial, and any potential conviction and sentence, unless and until he returns to the United States.”
What happened to Flores is extremely unusual, especially in a case of this significance, former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson said.
Ordinarily, if a criminal defendant had immigration proceedings against them — which is common — immigration officials would inform prosecutors what was happening. In minor cases, a defendant can sometimes choose to self-deport in lieu of prosecution.
“It’s just beyond me how they would deport him without the prosecutors … being in on the conversation,” Levenson said. “This really was the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing.”
The jewelers who were stolen from are also demanding answers.
“When a defendant in a major federal theft case leaves the country before trial, victims are left without answers, without a verdict, and without closure,” Jerry Kroll, an attorney for some of the jewelry companies, told the Los Angeles Times.
The infamous jewelry heist unfolded in July 2022 after the suspects scouted the Brink’s tractor-trailer leaving an international jewelry show near San Francisco with dozens of bags of jewels, according to the indictment. While the victims reported more than $100 million in losses, Brink’s said the stolen items were worth less than $10 million.
A lawsuit filed by the Brink’s security company said one of the drivers was asleep inside the big rig and the other was getting food inside the rest stop when the thieves broke in.
North Carolina
Report: Chess grandmaster died of abnormal heartbeat from accidental OD
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Daniel Naroditsky, an influential American chess grandmaster who was found dead at his North Carolina home in October at age 29, had multiple drugs in his system at the time and was killed by an abnormal heartbeat caused by an accidental overdose, according to a toxicology report.
Released Tuesday by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, the report said Naroditsky tested positive for methamphetamine and kratom, an opioid-related ingredient that is increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements.
Naroditsky was last known to be alive on Oct. 18 when he accepted a food delivery. He was found dead the next day after missing a flight, according to the report.
Friends went to Naroditsky’s house two days before his death after he appeared to be acting strangely online, and they took away 40 pills of the stimulant Adderall. Investigators later also found bags of kratom in the home, according the report.
Naroditsky was a child prodigy who became a grandmaster, the highest title in chess aside from World Chess Champion, at age 18.
Fellow grandmasters credited him with introducing the sport to a wider audience by livestreaming many of his matches and sharing live commentary on others. Thousands of people regularly tuned in on YouTube and the interactive streaming platform Twitch to watch Naroditsky play.
High-speed competitive speed chess flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a chess community that was soon rife with cheating allegations as players gained access to sophisticated computer programs that could give them an unfair advantage.
Naroditsky was accused of cheating by former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik. He denied the allegations, which were not proven.
In his last livestream before his death, Naroditsky said the allegations had taken a toll on him.
“Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. The issue is just the lingering effect of it,” Naroditsky said.
The International Chess Federation filed a formal complaint against Kramnik in November, accusing him of harassment and insulting the dignity of fellow players.
Kramnik in turn filed a defamation lawsuit against the organization the following month.
In a post Tuesday on the social platform X, he said that Naroditsky’s death was an “immense tragedy” and that in the immediate aftermath, “a cynical smear campaign was launched, unjustly linking me — without any factual basis — to Daniel’s untimely death.”
“After viewing portions of his last stream and despite our existing tensions, I publicly urged Daniel’s friends — on what tragically turned out to be the morning of his death — to look after and seek urgent help for him,” Kramnik added. “Regrettably, those efforts were in vain.”
