Two Chilean nationals were arrested after a burglary led to a high-speed pursuit crash in Orange County.
The suspects were identified as Jorge Navarretecorvalan, 32, and Alejandro Tobarfuentes, 32, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
On June 8, the suspects allegedly ransacked a San Juan Capistrano home and escaped with designer handbags, jewelry and a safe, authorities said.
When an Orange County sheriff’s deputy spotted the men and tried to pull their vehicle over, they refused to yield and sped away from the scene, leading the deputy on a pursuit.
During the chase, the suspects, who were driving a Mini Cooper, drove on the wrong side of the freeway and crashed head-on into a Toyota sedan while also narrowly missing a deputy who tried to pull them over.
The sedan driver suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash, authorities said.
During the arrest, the suspects provided fake Venezuelan identification cards to deputies, officials said.
The suspects were actually Chilean nationals who were visiting the U.S. on a visa waiver from the Department of Homeland Security.
On June 14, Navarretecorvalan was charged with one count of first-degree burglary, one count of evading a peace officer while driving opposite of traffic, one count of driving the wrong way on a divided highway causing injury or death, and one count of possession of a forged identification card.
Tobarfuentes was charged with one count of first-degree burglary, one count of possession of a forged identification card, and one misdemeanor count of possession of burglary tools.
If convicted on all counts, Navarretecorvalan faces up to eight years in prison while Tobarfuentes faces up to six years and eight months in prison.
The two suspects entered the U.S. through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization System (ESTA) Visa Waiver Program. For $21, applicants from countries that participate in the ESTA program are granted unlimited access to the U.S. for up to 90 days at a time in a two-year period.
Applicants are typically granted access within 72 hours of applying for an ESTA visa waiver.
“Chile refuses to provide the criminal background checks for their residents as required by the ESTA program requirements,” the DA’s office said. “In 2022, 350,000 Chilean nationals entered the United States through the ESTA visa waiver program without background checks.”
In May 2023, O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer criticized the program which he claims is being exploited by international organized crime rings to commit residential burglaries in the U.S.
“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has the power to immediately and unilaterally suspend Chile from the ESTA visa waiver program until it complies with the requirement to provide criminal background checks for their citizens,” said Spitzer. “Instead of holding Chile accountable and preventing a direct pipeline for organized crime to shuttle thieves into the United States, Secretary Mayorkas’ inaction is resulting in Americans continuing to be terrorized by criminals who are stalking them in their homes and steal their most prized possessions. This has to stop.”