A gang of criminal migrants has been arrested for looting residential homes in an area of Tennessee that was devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Authorities in Tennessee revealed they arrested eight migrants who were caught looting in the flood-ravaged 107 area on Saturday.
Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton announced on Facebook that deputies arrested eight men who were charged with burglary offenses.
Five of the suspects were charged with aggravated burglary into occupied structures.
They were identified as:
- Albin Nahun Vega-Rapalo, 24
- David Bairon Rapalo-Rapalo, 37
- Kevin Noe Martinez-Lopez, 25
- Marvin Hernandez-Martinez, 43
- Dayln Gabriel Guillen Guillen, 37
Three others face burglary charges:
- Jesus Leodan Garcia-Peneda, 51
- Josue Berardo Ortis-Valdez, 30
- Ersy Leonel Ortis-Valdez, 33
As of Monday, all were in custody at the Washington County Detention Center.
Each migrant was held on a $20,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said.
They were all expected to appear in court later Monday.
The office added that Washington County deputies continue to patrol the region “during the catastrophic flooding, especially along the flood zone.”
A sheriff’s office spokesperson confirmed in a statement that all eight suspects are migrant workers.
They were in the United States legally on work visas.
However, authorities are now planning to deport the migrants.
The work status of the migrants “will change as a result of the charges,” the sheriff’s office confirmed.
After dark, authorities will continue to stop anyone found in flood zones, regardless of their appearance.
“We have been through way too much for this kind of behavior,” the sheriff’s office spokeswoman said.
The five individuals facing aggravated burglary charges were caught looting residential homes, the sheriff’s office revealed.
The other three were caught looting unoccupied homes, businesses, and structures “that were barely still standing,” she said.
The spokeswoman said radios had just arrived via helicopter a day earlier.
Communication in the area, which already struggled with cell service before the hurricane, was severely impacted by the storm.
The eastern part of Tennessee was hit by heavy rains and flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene.
Gov. Bill Lee surveyed flooding damage in eastern Tennessee days ago.
At least 133 deaths in six Southeastern states have been attributed to the storm.
The hurricane inflicted damage from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia.
The toll steadily rose as emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure, and widespread flooding.
During a press briefing, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested as many as 600 people had not been accounted for as of Monday afternoon.
Many of those missing people might be dead, the White House revealed.
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