Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan Middlesex County District Attorney Marian RyanJonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Authorities have broken up a sophisticated burglary ring targeting Indian and South Asian families that was allegedly responsible for 43 break-ins in more than two dozen Middlesex County communities dating back to 2018, District Attorney Marian T. Ryan announced Friday.

Several suspects with alleged ties to a Providence, R.I., gang have been arrested, including a father, his two sons, and a fourth person, Ryan said. She identified them as Paul Miller, 46, of Woonsocket, and his sons, Jovan M. Lemon, 29, of Providence, and Paul E. Lemon, 30, of Warwick. The fourth suspect arrested was identified as Steven Berdugo, 28, also of Providence.

The men were taken into custody in their homes Friday by the US Marshals and Rhode Island State Police. Prosecutors will now push for their return to Massachusetts to face 95 counts of unarmed burglary and breaking and entering a dwelling house in the daytime with intent to commit a felony in Middlesex Superior Court, Ryan said.

Members of the ring deployed devices to disable home surveillance systems in both the victim’s home and in neighbors’ residences while a break-in was underway, Ryan said at a press conference.
The suspects identified their alleged victims by obtaining memberships lists from temples attended by Indian and South Asian families and may have deployed GPS trackers on the victims’ vehicles to alert them when they were not home, she said.
Four men have been charged with orchestrating a large-scale burglary ring that has hit more than two dozen communities in Middlesex County, according to authorities. (Middlesex District Attorney) Four men have been charged with orchestrating a large-scale burglary ring that has hit more than two dozen communities in Middlesex County, according to authorities. (Middlesex District Attorney)Middlesex District Attorney “They were sophisticated, both in avoiding cameras and other surveillance devices. We believe they were also using Wi-Fi jammers,” she said. “While a home was being broken into, neighbors, for instance, who might have been streaming on their TVs, would suddenly lose their Wi-Fi for half an hour or so. And then it would come back on again.”
Ryan said the thieves often entered a home through a second-floor window and would bring collapsible ladders with them to reach the upper levels of the home. The alleged burglars would even remove heavy safes.

“It’s important to note that a number of these families had secured their valuable items in safes inside their home. Some of those safes themselves weighed as much as 400 pounds,” Ryan said. “The thieves removed those...dropping them from a second-floor window.”