Advocates warn burglars may still target Asian American households in Eugene-Springfield

Advocates warned June 19 that burglars may still be targeting Asian American households in Eugene and Springfield, even after federal arrests and guilty pleas disrupted part of the ring. The warning came as Lane County District Attorney Pat Parosa, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner, Lane County Sheriff Carl Wilkerson and Springfield Police Chief Jamie Resch were again pulled into the center of the region’s response.

The concern is rooted in a pattern that investigators have linked to coordinated, racially selective burglary. Federal prosecutors said two Colombian nationals pleaded guilty in Eugene on May 20 in a multi-state conspiracy that targeted Asian American small business owners in Oregon and Washington. Court documents said the crew used internet research to identify targets, stayed in short-term rentals, used signal-jamming technology, and wired proceeds to Bogota, Colombia.

That case built on a federal complaint filed Nov. 6, 2025, after seven people were charged in the ring. Prosecutors said the group burglarized a home in Auburn, Washington, on Oct. 3, 2025, a home in Eugene on Oct. 6 and a home in Salem on Oct. 9. Detectives traced the suspects back to a Eugene short-term rental, where they recovered stolen property, more than a dozen cell phones, evidence of money wires to Bogota and commercial-grade Wi-Fi signal jammers.

Community concern in Lane County has been building since earlier reports showed the problem was broader than a single break-in. KLCC reported June 2, 2025, that a suspect was linked to a group that allegedly burglarized 17 Asian households in Eugene and Springfield. KVAL later reported that Eugene police had linked at least 13 homes in Eugene and four in Springfield to the pattern, while advocates Jenny Jonak and Jensina Hawkins pushed for a public safety forum after the racial pattern was first reported.

Police arrests have not ended the anxiety. KLCC reported Oct. 10, 2025, that Eugene police arrested seven suspects and were still investigating whether they were tied to nearly two dozen similar burglaries over the previous year. The Register-Guard later said the group was suspected in about 21 burglaries in Eugene since late 2023. Community leaders have also warned that language barriers and distrust can keep some Asian American victims from reporting anti-Asian crime, which leaves neighborhoods with fewer warnings and slower detection.

For Asian American families in Eugene and Springfield, the practical response has shifted toward tighter routines, stronger home security and quicker reporting of suspicious activity. Officials have shown they are still pursuing the ring, but residents and advocates are treating the threat as active, not resolved.