Vehicle burglary suspects in custody after traffic stop near Jacks Valley
Two California residents were arrested Sunday in connection to multiple vehicle burglaries at trailheads in the Carson Valley area and at Lake Tahoe, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reports Tuesday.
The suspects are Carolyn Brinkman, 33, of Newark, Calif., and Harvis Berry, 35, of Elk Grove, Calif. Both were arrested and are currently charged with four counts of alleged vehicle burglary and four counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.
Between May 16 and May 23, six vehicle burglaries occurred at trailhead parking areas around Douglas County. Four of the vehicle burglaries occurred at trailheads at Lake Tahoe and two vehicle burglaries occurred at trailheads in the Carson Valley, according to DCSO.
The suspects in the vehicle burglaries stole cash and credit cards and then used the victim’s credit cards at local stores immediately after the burglaries to purchase gift cards among other items.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Investigators obtained video of the suspects using the credit cards during a number of the transactions.
On Sunday, investigators set up surveillance at a number of trailheads around Douglas County and within an hour the suspects were spotted casing vehicles at the Jacks Valley trailhead parking area.
The suspects were followed away from Jacks Valley and a traffic stop was initiated when the suspect vehicle entered Carson City.
A search warrant was executed on the suspect’s vehicle and Investigators located a set of sophisticated vehicle burglary tools and over $6,000 in gift cards.
Bail was set for both suspects at $112,000 each.