The largest jewelry theft in U.S. history took an unexpected turn after immigration officials deported one of the accused conspirators before his criminal case could move forward.
ICE removed Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores from the country in late December without notifying prosecutors, weeks before trial, according to court filings.
The move reportedly surprised prosecutors and raised questions about coordination inside the federal government, with many questioning how a suspect tied to a $100 million heist could be sent out of the country mid-case.
What happened with ICE and the $100 million jewelry heist?
In 2022, thieves followed an armored truck from a jewelry show near San Francisco 300 miles south to a remote rest stop in Lebec, California. They escaped with about $100 million in gemstones, gold, and watches.
Seven men were charged in 2025 for their involvement with the heist, but Presilla Flores, one of those men, was picked up by ICE agents after he was released on a $65,000 bond in August 2025.
In December, a judge issued a final order of removal and immigration authorities deported him to Ecuador.
According to recent court filings, prosecutors in the criminal case were unaware of the deportation beforehand.
Presilla Flores’s lawyer, John D. Robertson, argued ICE violated his client’s rights by detaining him after bail. He added that "The Government cannot now have it both ways."
Prosecutors pushed back, saying that civil immigration ran separately from criminal cases. In a filing, they claimed Presilla Flores chose between staying and risking deportation later or "functionally self-deport, and avoid criminal exposure" and wrote that "he chose the latter."
A DHS spokeswoman said that because Presilla Flores now had a criminal history, he "became removable" from the U.S., according to the New York Times. Still, she did not say whether ICE coordinated with prosecutors.
A study from May 2025 noted this pattern had grown more common during both terms of the Trump administration.
Reactions online ranged from jokes to anger
The news spread quickly on social media, and people were a mixture of frustrated and amused at ICE deporting someone in the middle of a criminal trial.
@ProgPro joked, "The plan? Rob a bank then speak Spanish around ICE, getting a free flight out of the country."
@damp_centaur joked, "The onion is definitely going out of business."
"He was also a permanent legal resident. In other words: not actually eligible for deportation," @StopTrumpSign noted.
"So ICE just helped this felon escape to South America. Where he can collect the profits from having fenced the jewels and gold the Feds failed to recover."
Meanwhile, @mrmatthouse noted, "stealing 100m and then getting the government to pay for your ticket out is baller."
Some folks were alarmed by the news, such as @FriccenFriend, who posted, "So ice is now aiding and abetting criminals." Then, @sagittayystar replied, "They’re not beating the 'Stupid Gestapo' allegations."
Finally, @tweets4twits asked, "So they not only let him go scott free, but gave him a free flight out of the country?"
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