KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. – The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office said eight people with ties to a Mexican cartel have been arrested in connection to an organized retail theft ring that investigators believe is responsible for more than $100 million in annual losses nationwide.
What we know:
Sheriff’s officials said the theft cell has direct ties to Cartel La Familia Michoacana, a group known for using stash houses, fraudulent IDs and a national network to further drug, firearm and human trafficking operations.
Detectives with the Kenosha Drug Operations Group (KDOG) began working with Oak Brook, Illinois, police in March 2025 after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) linked suspects to the cartel.
The sheriff’s office said on April 10, deputies stopped several members in Kenosha County and found more than $21,000 in stolen merchandise from Madison. In May, investigators served warrants at a Kenosha apartment and a storage unit, recovering more than $120,000 worth of stolen property.
Authorities said many items still had price tags attached.
Eight suspects were taken into custody:
- Fausto Gonzalez-Medrano, Kenosha, WI
- Jose Baez-Fuerte, Kenosha, WI
- Jorge Villeda-Sevilla, Kenosha, WI
- Sharon Villeda-Sevilla, Kenosha, WI
- Ana Villeda-Sevilla, Kenosha, WI
- Manuel Perez-Sanchez, Zion, IL
- Danna Gomez, Chicago, IL
- Yareli Salas-Ramirez, Zion, IL
Four of the suspects – Gonzalez-Medrano, Perez-Sanchez, Gomez, and Salas-Ramirez – posted bonds up to $25,000 but were taken into custody by ICE and deported to Mexico.
All four now have fully extraditable warrants if they return to the United States. The remaining suspects are being held in the Kenosha County Jail.
What they’re saying:
“The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office is honored to have played a crucial role with all of our involved law enforcement partners,” Sheriff David Zoerner said. “I am proud of the fact that KDOG detectives identified key members, executed search warrants, and gathered crucial evidence of this cartel retail theft ring.”
Officials said the investigation involved cooperation from KDOG, HSI offices in Milwaukee and Houston, ICE and multiple agencies in Illinois and Texas.