When the leaseholder of a storage unit reported that $50,000 worth of collectible guitars were missing from their space the authorities opened an investigation to try to discover the perpetrator of the alleged theft.
On October 3, the alleged victim reported that 21 pricey guitars had been taken from their container at an Extra Space Storage facility located in Irvine.
Video footage from the storage facility premises during the time that the alleged incident took place was reviewed and it reportedly displayed a man and woman each wheeling many cases of guitars on a dolly and loading the cases into a vehicle.
Police reported that they spotted an advertisement online for guitars that they suspected were from the alleged theft. They responded to the seller posing as a prospective buyer and planned a meeting at Ontario Mills Mall on Tuesday afternoon.
When the police arrived for the faux transaction they approached a vehicle with 34-year-old Derek Allen Dodds and 27-year-old Brittney Christine Patterson inside and discovered three guitars in the car. They believed that the guitars were a part of the reported theft, and suspected that Dodds and Patterson was the pair seen in the surveillance video.
Dodds and Patterson were taken into custody at the scene and they are facing charges of felony grand theft, felony receiving stolen property, and felony burglary, in addition to misdemeanor possession of burglary tools, based on the accusations.
The police reported that all but three of the missing guitars have been found.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.