WOBURN — A New York man has pleaded guilty to a series of housebreaks specifically targeting Asian and South Asian families, with stolen goods totaling around $200,000.
Juan Castano, 32, admitted this week to carrying out ten burglaries across multiple Massachusetts cities, including four in Newton, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
The burglaries, which took place between June and July of 2021, involved the theft of cash, designer watches, jewelry, and a handgun.
“Juan Castano chose homes to break into based specifically on the ethnicity of the residents,” Ryan stated. “His plan not only violated the victims’ sense of safety but, in one instance, he created a physical threat for the family, including children, who were at home during the break.”
Castano, who came to Massachusetts from New York to commit these crimes, was sentenced to 4-5 years in State Prison as a Common and Notorious Thief.
This sentence will run consecutively with a 5.5 to 11-year sentence he is already serving in New York for similar crimes.
During the investigation, authorities used geolocation and cell tower data to link Castano to the crime scenes.
Castano, along with an accomplice identified as Wendy Reyes, had scouted homes by pretending to conduct surveys before breaking in through windows or glass doors.
Upon completing his sentences in New York and Massachusetts, Castano will also face a three-year probation term for additional counts including Unarmed Burglary and Larceny of a Firearm.
Reyes is scheduled for trial on April 14, 2025.
The investigation was a collaborative effort among the Newton, Wellesley, Andover, and Quincy Police Departments, as well as the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the New England State Police Information Network.
