Hat tip to RB Renter for sending this in, from the U-T:
NORTH COUNTY — Sheriff’s deputies are trying to identify owners of thousand of dollars worth of stolen kitchen appliances and other items after two men suspected of burglarizing homes in Fallbrook were arrested and a cache of merchandise was discovered.
Undercover detectives posing as husband and wife went to a home in Moreno Valley in Riverside County Wednesday after responding to a Craigslist ad offering a set of Viking stainless steel appliances for sale for $8,500, sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Montion said.
The items matched the description of property that had been stolen Nov. 17 from a vacant Fallbrook home that was for sale, Montion said. While detectives were there they also found Thermador appliances believed to have been stolen from a second vacant home in Fallbrook Nov. 19.
The men selling the items, identified as 37-year-old twin brothers Julio and Juan Villanueva, were taken into custody.
In the garage of the house deputies recovered 36 appliances that included ovens, microwaves, trash compactors, warmers and dishwashers with brand names like Jenn-Air, Kitchen Aid, GE Profile, and GE Monogram, Montion said.
Investigators also seized a computer that had been used to search for homes for sale in Escondido, Fallbrook, Carlsbad and Riverside County that specifically featured the high-end stainless appliances, Montion said.
Sports memorabilia signed by NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame players Emmit Smith and Dan Marino was also recovered. Only 10 of the items have been identified by victims, Montion said.
Deputies are asking that anyone, particularly real estate agents, who know of homes that have been burglarized contact the department at 760-451-3100 to view the property. It is valued at more than $100,000, Montion said.
The Villanuevas were booked into Vista jail where they are being held on a variety of theft and conspiracy charges. Bail for Julio Villanueva, who was also charged with possession of methamphetamine, was set at $215,000. Bail for his brother was set at $210,000.
Reading this just made me think of the pool cleaner bandit that hit me quite a while ago, they finally caught him in the act.
Pool cleaner bandit? Do tell.
Its nice to have a police force that actually sometimes catches criminals.
Agreed – it might also cause others to think twice because up until now, all foreclosure crime has had a free pass for years, starting with the tan man.
I reported the thieft of our creepy crawly (aka pool cleaner) to the local authority. An officer actually came to the house and took a report. We were the first in our area. Pretty soon neighbors were complaining their cleaners were missing too. We urged them to report, and tell all their friends to report. There were probably more than 300 cleaners reported before a stake out in a specific radius caught the bandit coming back over a block wall. He lived on the other side of the valley, used the freeway system, targeting a rather specific several square mile radius, then posted the equipment for sale on Craigs with an assortment of cell phone contact numbers.
To undercover detectives:
Good job!