BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB) - A Columbian national was sentenced to federal prison for her role in a nationwide theft ring that targeted jewelry stores at malls.

Yesenia Melendez Rincon, 41, was part of burglaries led to more than $1.33 million in losses for a number of stores, including some in the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford.

David X. Sullivan, the U.S. states attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced on Thursday that Rincon was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from May 2023 through April 2024, Rincon and several other people from Colombian burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls and then transported the stolen property or the proceeds from it across state lines.

“Rincon and her co-conspirators burglarized je

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