Douglas County sheriff's investigators arrest man for alleged theft of solar equipment
A 40-year-old Reno man was arrested Tuesday by Douglas County authorities following an investigation that lasted several months into stolen solar energy equipment.
Geoffrey Earl Meudt, a former resident of Gardnerville, faces a felony charge of possession of stolen property, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Pat Brooks. From November 2013 to April 2014, there were five separate thefts in Douglas County of electrical producing solar panels and associated solar energy system components.
Douglas County Sheriff's Office investigators were able to identify persons who had purchased solar panels and components from Meudt. The persons purchased the items from Meudt believing them to be lawfully resold by Meudt as a result of a solar energy upgrade project in Reno, said Brooks.
An inspection of the components purchased by these persons from Meudt revealed that the items were, in fact, some of the solar panels and system components stolen in the thefts that occurred in Douglas County.
Approximately $25,000 worth of solar panels and associated system components have been recovered thus far. The investigation continues to identify and recover additional items. Meudt was booked into the Douglas County Sheriff’s Minden Jail. His bail is set at $20,000.