Chilean national arrested with Chinese-made Wi-Fi “jamming device” in Evansville

EVANSVILLE — A Chilean national and a yet-to-be-apprehended accomplice allegedly burglarized an Evansville home Sunday using a powerful Chinese-made signal jamming device.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office publicly identified the Chilean national as 29-year-old Jaime Yovany Riquelme Riveras. He is currently being held at the Vanderburgh County Jail, according to online booking records.

Riveras, who investigators say entered the United States in April, is charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, hindering the reporting of a crime and operating a vehicle without a license.

According to Sheriff Noah Robinson, Riveras' arrest Sunday came after a Vanderburgh County couple caught him and another man burglarizing their home in Cambridge Village.

When a sheriff's deputy spotted Riveras driving south on U.S. 41 and tried to stop him, the deputy said something unusual happened: His laptop in the car was fails.

In the back of Riveras' vehicle, the deputy allegedly found a large signal jamming device, which had an antenna array, Robinson told reporters at a news conference Tuesday morning.

“This device is specifically designed to jam wifi and cellular signals and its operation is illegal under federal law,” Robinson said. “When activated, cameras and other security devices that rely on wifi or cellular signals stop working.”

The jammer allegedly cut the VCSO's connection to a recently installed Flock Safety license plate reader camera near the burglary scene, but because the camera stores footage on a local hard drive, it re-uploaded photographs from that which investigators said was Rivera's Jeep nearby. the house burglarized after reestablishing the connection.

Robinson said the sheriff's office is in consultation with federal officials about additional prosecutions related to the jamming device. Riveras' immigration status was not immediately clear.

Rivera's alleged accomplice had not been apprehended as of Tuesday, nor had the sheriff's office publicly identified him.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Sheriff: Chilean national arrested with 'jamming device' in Evansville