Monrovia police recover large cache of stolen property

On Friday, January 18, the Monrovia Police Department discovered a large amount of stolen property in the process of making what police refer to as a welfare call. This ultimately led to the arrest of two people and the recovery of a large cache of stolen property.
According to Chief of Police Jim Hunt, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on that day, the department received a call from a distraught parent saying their daughter was suicidal. Patrol responded to the location given and a searched for the suicidal subject.
In the process of that search, they noticed a large number of cameras and other items as well as a woman for whom there was an outstanding arrest warrant. The woman was wanted for receiving stolen property. She was arrested at the scene.
Hunt said that as a result of these facts, a search warrant was obtained for residence and more stolen property was found. Another person who was wanted by Burbank Police for receiving stolen property also arrived at the house and was arrested.
In addition to the arrest of these two individuals, the young woman, whose concerned parents first took police to the location, was located and placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.
Monrovia Police detectives began researching the property recovered at the home and determined that it had come from at least four different victims throughout Los Angeles County. Further investigation led the investigators to believe that there was additional stolen property in a storage unit in West Covina under the control of one of the suspects in custody.
MPD investigators obtained a search warrant for the storage unit. Hunt said “It was packed from floor to ceiling, front to back with stolen property.”
He added, “We don’t have facilities for storing that much, so we called upon the Sheriff’s Department. They showed up with a box truck. We completely filled it.”
Sheriff’s investigators are assisting Monrovia Police in processing all the property recovered. Among the recovered items are jewelry, musical instruments and equipment, cameras, and electronics including lap top computers and phones.
Once all the property has been processed, Monrovia Police Department will announce the ways victims may begin to apply to recover their property. Information about the recovery process will be posted on the MPD website: http://www.ci.monrovia.ca.us/city-government/departments/police-department-homepage.
While the processing is being completed, Chief Hunt gave some advise to victims of thefts: “Be sure you have a copy of the original police report of the theft itemizing the items that were lost.”
In addition, Hunt said that photographs of lost jewelry or other items, as well as serial numbers and descriptions of any distinguishing marks, and receipts for any of the property that was taken will also be helpful in claiming it.

-Courtesy Photo, Story by Susan Motander

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