CALIFORNIA STOLEN COMPUTERS FOUNDDeputies find cache of loot in Watsonville home By DANIEL LOPEZ SENTINEL STAFF WRITER October 14, 2005October 14, 2005

Deputies find cache of loot in Watsonville home
By DANIEL LOPEZ
Sentinel staff writer
WATSONVILLE — Sheriff’s deputies discovered a bounty of stolen loot inside a home Wednesday, and arrested three people they suspect are responsible for a recent rash of home burglaries.

Deputies spent hours sifting through thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of suspected stolen items from the Aptos and South County area. The items include: jewelry, laptop and desktop computers, cameras, antiques, silverware, sports memorabilia, a Persian rug and a bicycle. The items were littered throughout the two-story home and garage at 57 Kingfisher Drive.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Campos said deputies previously recovered stolen property at that home and that at least two of those arrested were out on bail on other burglary charges.

"It’s pretty clear this is what they do for a living," he said.

Other suspected stolen items had been tossed out on the second-floor balcony.

Aptos resident Patty Morgan went to the home Thursday to claim some of the items she says were stolen from her home Wednesday morning.

"I found a lot of keepsakes that were really important to me, so I’m pleased about that," Morgan said.

Morgan said someone entered her home and made off with silverware and other family mementos while she was at work.

But a neighbor saw a woman burglarizing the home on Day Valley Road and notified police, providing a description of the vehicle the suspect fled in, Morgan said.

About 10 p.m. that night, a sheriff’s deputy saw a German luxury sedan similar to the one seen leaving Morgan’s home and followed it to the home on Kingfisher Drive, Campos said.

After stopping the vehicle, deputies found suspected stolen items. They arrested the occupants — two women and a man — on suspicion of possessing stolen property. The man also was carrying methamphetamine, deputies said.

All are Watsonville residents and were booked into County Jail, Campos said.

In July, two of the suspects also were arrested for the attempted burglary of a home in the Pajaro Dunes area.

The pair fled the scene in a luxury sport utility vehicle when a security guard interrupted them.

They were later apprehended when a police chase ended in a crash, Campos said.

A few weeks after that incident, the man was arrested while out on bail when sheriff’s deputies found a stolen Toyota sport utility vehicle in the garage of the home on Kingfisher Drive.

The stolen goods recovered Wednesday more than likely would have been sold at pawn shops and second-hand stores, Campos said.

Sheriff’s Lt. Phil Wowak said the department may hold a property viewing next week where victims who have reported thefts to the police will be allowed to search for their property.

"What we have to do is catalog all the property and compare it to all other agency cases," Wowak said.


Call the Sheriff’s Office investigations department at 454-2311.


Contact Daniel Lopez at dlopez@santacruzsentinel.com.