A man facing federal charges in what authorities have described as the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history has agreed to plead guilty for his role in the crime.
Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, one of seven individuals charged in connection with the theft of approximately $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches from a Brinks tractor-trailer at a Grapevine truck stop in 2022, has entered into a plea agreement. Mestanza was arrested in Panama at an international airport last year, en route to Ecuador, a month after charges were initially filed.
In a court filing unsealed on Monday, Mestanza agreed to plead guilty to interference with commerce by robbery. His plea hearing is scheduled for November 19. He faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Mestanza's attorney declined to comment on the matter.
The plea agreement, signed last week, details Mestanza's admission to a series of thefts and robberies, including the significant Brinks heist. According to the document, Mestanza and his co-conspirators targeted a Brinks semitruck on July 10, which was transporting 73 bags of jewelry valued in the millions of dollars after departing an international jewelry show in San Mateo. Coordinated via telephone, they trailed the truck approximately 300 miles to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec.
On July 11, Mestanza and his associates reportedly breached the truck's locks and absconded with 24 bags of jewelry. The value of the stolen items was later estimated by victims at around $100 million. Following the theft, the group traveled to East Hollywood. The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles has characterized the incident as "the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history." In the subsequent days, Mestanza acknowledged that he and others deactivated their cell phones used during the heist to obscure their identities. The seven men were charged with conspiracy to commit theft from an interstate and foreign shipment, as well as theft from an interstate and foreign shipment, in an indictment unsealed last June.
The heist impacted 14 jewelers whose merchandise Brink's was transporting to Pasadena. Several suffered severe financial repercussions, with some ultimately leaving the industry. The plea agreement also revealed text messages sent by Mestanza after the indictment became public, in which he referred to his "stupidities from the past that I’m now paying for" and expressed uncertainty about whether he was being pursued by law enforcement. Furthermore, the agreement includes a WhatsApp message from June 28, 2025, where Mestanza discussed crossing the Mexican border following a "robo grande" (large robbery) with a South American contact.
Mestanza also admitted to participating in other coordinated thefts and robberies throughout 2022. These operations involved using multiple vehicles to trail truck drivers to stopping points and forcibly seize cargo, including through the use of force and threats. The plea agreement specifically noted the theft of over $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics from a truck in March 2022, and the subsequent theft of more than $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags from another truck in the same month.
