Aspen burglar will not pay restitution, judge says

A Pitkin County judge decided Tuesday not to order a man convicted of burglarizing an Aspen luxury watch store last year to pay restitution, meaning compensation to the victims in the case. 

The decision comes after Agustin Ramirez-Vidal, who told the court he is 51 and who court records indicate is from Argentina, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to burglarizing Avi & Co., a watch store in Aspen. 

“To my knowledge, there has not been a dollar amount provided or requested by any alleged victim in this case,” Vidal’s attorney, Justie Nicol, said. 

The burglary occurred during the night of Nov. 10 and 11, 2024, when five masked men, who were caught on camera, attempted to break into Avi & Co’s vault. The vault reportedly contained watches worth up to $400,000, according to a police affidavit. Police reported that the men tunneled through the walls of the two businesses adjacent to the watch store — Wayan, an Indonesian restaurant, and Forré Fine Art gallery — to get into the watch store.

Police reported that the men had not successfully broken into the vault before fleeing.

Vidal and three other men — Tomas Bravo Toro, then 34, as well as a 35-year-old and a 43-year-old — were arrested the following day in Vail after police issued a ‘Be on the Lookout’ alert for a rental car they suspected the men to be driving. 

The 35-year-old and the 43-year-old, who are both from Chile, were charged primarily with conspiracy to commit burglary, not a burglary itself. They were both released after making bond, but seized and deported by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement in May and June of this year.

Vidal and Toro, who records indicate is from Peru, both plead guilty to burglary charges. In August, they were sentenced to prison for 18 months and two years, respectively. 

“The court is going to order no restitution in this matter,” Judge Laura Makar told Vidal in Monday court proceedings. “I think that’s all that we have in this particular matter.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.