Home invasion ring busted in Las Vegas FBI sting

A joint FBI-Las Vegas police sting led to the weekend arrests of five Southern California men on charges of conspiring to stage a home invasion at what they thought was a Las Vegas stash house hiding 30 kilos of cocaine.

Authorities said the suspects are members of a Korean organized crime ring based in Southern California that specializes in home invasions.

"They came to us looking for targets, so we presented this opportunity to them," said Lt. Dave Logue, of the Criminal Intelligence Section of Las Vegas police.

FBI agents from both Las Vegas and Los Angeles worked with intelligence detectives here in the undercover investigation authorities dubbed "Vegas Hold'em."

More arrests are expected.

James Arum Han, alleged to be the ringleader of the group, told a wired undercover FBI agent during the investigation that he had done more than 100 home invasions in the past, according to an FBI complaint filed Tuesday.

Authorities believe this is the first time the group planned to commit a robbery in Las Vegas.

Han, 28, and the four other defendants -- Rene Antwan Hypolite, 23; David Chon, 28; Howard Suh, 25; and Kyung Hoon Han, 35 -- all were arrested at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday following secretly recorded meetings with the undercover FBI agent and the informant at the Rio.

The defendants were taken into custody outside the hotel as they were preparing to go to the reputed drug stash house.

The five men, who are being held without bail, each face federal charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.

The undercover investigation began Dec. 14, when James Han and a California associate met with an undercover FBI informant at the Wynn Las Vegas, according to the complaint.

The men are alleged to have asked the informant to find them home invasion targets.

The associate, identified in the complaint as Kyle Hwan Choi, described Han to the informant as his "right" guy who had stolen $500,000 in home invasions the previous month, the complaint alleged.

Choi has not been charged in the case.

At a detention hearing Tuesday in federal court for one of the defendants, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson said the Las Vegas community is fortunate that the informant was first approached about the scheme so authorities could control the criminal activities of the group here, rather than letting it "wreak havoc" on valley residents.

Johnson, who oversees organized crime cases for the Nevada U.S. attorney's office, said the group was looking for upscale homes to rob.

The complaint alleged that Han returned to Las Vegas on Jan. 14 to meet with the informant and the undercover FBI agent. During that recorded conversation, Han, who had bragged earlier about having several crews, said he was "no rookie" and was "more hungry than anyone else" on the home invasion circuit.

Han, who authorities said has a felony burglary conviction, allegedly talked about some of his Los Angeles-area home invasions, including one last November in Diamond Bar where the residents were stunned with Tasers and tied up. His description matched an unsolved home invasion that had occurred in Diamond Bar at the time, authorities said. The suspects in that robbery stole $300,000 in cash, Johnson said in court.

Han returned to Southern California after the Jan. 14 meeting in Las Vegas and firmed up plans with the informant for the robbery of the phony stash house here, according to the complaint. Han told the informant that he was getting together his "home boys" along with some equipment, including, police uniforms, BB guns and stun batons

Han and his crew arrived in Las Vegas about 12:55 a.m. Saturday, according to the complaint.

The crew checked into the Gold Coast while Han met with the undercover FBI agent, who gave him a chance to back out of the scheme. Han, however, allegedly insisted that he wanted to pull the robbery.

Later on Saturday, according to the complaint, the informant drove Han and his crew in a minivan with Florida plates to the nearby Rio, where meetings were set up in different hotel rooms monitored by nearby investigators.

The undercover agent presented the home invasion plan to Han in one room, and the informant met with Han's crew in another. The conversations in both rooms were secretly recorded, and authorities said they have both audio and videotapes.

During his meeting with Han, the complaint said, the undercover agent showed the suspect what he portrayed as photos and a floor plan of the stash house.

Han and the undercover agent then went to the other Rio room, where they explained the scheme to the crew, according to the complaint.

Authorities said they confiscated several weapons when they later arrested the suspects.

Some of the suspects were planning to dress in combat gear similar to what SWAT officers wear on raids, authorities said.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.