In the spring of 2018, the two thieves criss-crossed four states using rental cars for 25 days.

They carried out a criminal spree and were accused of stealing nearly US$89,000 in cash and merchandise from 10 businesses and stores, including the theft of US$20,218 in jewelry from Kmart on West 26th Street in Millcreek Township.

The thieves’ means of transportation contributed to their destruction.

One of the two included his mobile phone number in the car rental application. An Erie FBI agent used numbers and surveillance video to track the couple. They were sued in Erie Federal Court in October 2018-Sean A. Pena, 39, of Chicago, and Michael, 54, of Kentucky. · Keizer.

The case is in progress. Pena has pleaded guilty, and Kiser is considering whether to do so.

Pena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods across states on Monday.

According to court records, Kizer asked the federal probation officer to prepare a "pre-trial and statement report" while continuing to evaluate his case on the same day. The date of the plea hearing has not yet been determined. Kiser was charged with the same crime as Pena.

Pena faced a sentence of up to five years in federal prison when he accepted the sentence of U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter on March 3, and the latter accepted the request. Pena may also be ordered to pay compensation.

The indictments against Pena and Kiser were opened in January shortly after their arrest — Pena, Illinois and Kiser, Kentucky.

Detained: Three years later, the two were arrested for stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry during a 4-state carnival in Millcreek Kmart

This is the second case involving the theft of Milk Creek jewelry in 2018 in the Federal Court of Erie.

In August, Detroit resident Devon A. Edwards admitted to helping steal $235,715 worth of jewelry during a robbery at the Jared Galleria of Jewelry store outside the Millcreek Mall in November 2018. Edwards will be sentenced on December 9.

Another big robbery: He stole $235,000 of jewelry in a robbery near the mall. His Facebook post helped the police

The other defendant in the case, Roderick D. Brown, also from Detroit, pleaded guilty in the Federal Court of Erie a year ago and is scheduled to be sentenced in Baxter on November 10.

In the Kmart multi-state carnival case, the indictment specified the location of the theft, but did not provide information on how the FBI captured Pena and Kiser. The information was released in court on Monday, when Erie’s assistant to the chief federal prosecutor, US Attorney Christian Trabold, provided detailed information at Pena’s plea hearing.

Trabold said the FBI started investigating the case after receiving intelligence that Pena, who is believed to be living in Illinois, stole jewelry and other items from stores in multiple states. These states are ultimately Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The Erie FBI office was involved in the Kmart theft in Mill Creek Town, and the company is now closed. Trabold said that Erie's FBI agent Mike Thoresen led the full investigation.

He said Thoreson pieced together the plan by combining Pena's cell phone records and pings with Pena and Kiser's surveillance video in stores and businesses during the theft, and the video showed them reaching into the case to steal jewelry and other items. Telephone records show that Pena used the phone shortly before and after the theft and was not far from the victimized store or business.

According to Trabold, Torrenson said that phone records showed that Pena and Keizer crossed the state line shortly after the theft.

Surveillance video is a key piece of evidence in the Milk Creek case. The video shows that at around 8:45 pm on April 22, 2018, two men wearing ball caps walked into Kmart at 2873 W. 26th Street near Sterrettania Road. They walked to the jewelry counter.

The police reported at the time that one of the men was seen opening a display case, grabbing the jewelry and putting it in his pocket before the suspect left. The security guards told the police that 29 items were stolen, most of which were necklaces and some bracelets. According to the indictment, the value of the lost merchandise was US$20,217.73.

As part of the investigation, the Milk Creek police disseminated the photos in the video, but never received a prompt that would lead to an arrest.

The indictment stated that Millcreek Kmart went bankrupt in March 2019 and was the third place where Pena and Kiser were accused of assault during the criminal frenzy. Allegedly, they took away cash, jewellery and other items with a total value of US$88,955.45.

New York case: The duo charged with robbing $20,000 in an Irondequoit store and accused of participating in criminal activities in multiple states

The indictment and other court records did not provide information on how many stolen items were recovered and what Pena and Keese were accused of doing to these items.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.