Reward Offered in Santee Copper Thefts

Access covers damaged in copper thefts

San Diego County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for a recent series of copper wire thefts in Santee.

Since December 2013, about 4,000 feet of copper wiring has been stolen. The wire has been pulled from electrical boxes servicing street lights, walkway lighting and irrigation systems. The thefts have been concentrated in the Mission Creek and Town Center areas of Santee.

To get to the wire, the perpetrators have broken cement covers and other access points at electrical service boxes in the ground and at the base of light poles.  The cost to repair the damage has exceeded $60,000.

Anyone with information about the thefts is urged to call the Sheriff’s Department
 at (619) 956-4000 or the Crime Stoppers' anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Anonymous email and text messages can be sent via www.sdcrimestoppers.com

Arrests Made in Car Burglaries

Sheriff’s deputies in Santee on Monday arrested three men on theft charges who may be responsible for a series of car burglaries that have occurred  over the past month.

The string of car burglaries, which were concentrated in the city’s northwest quadrant,  prompted the department to assign extra sheriff’s patrols that apparently paid off.

Several of the burglarized cars were unlocked, allowing thieves to easily grab visible items such as I-Pods, GPS devices and cell phones, said Detective Sgt. Tom Poulin.

“People are making themselves victims by leaving their car doors open,” Poulin said.

The arrests of the three suspects on Oct. 8 occurred after a patrol officer at 3 a.m. spotted two of the men hiding behind a car and a third suspect inside the vehicle, which wasparked on Halberns Street, he said.

A search of the suspects and the vehicle turned up several backpacks,  small electronics, methamphetamine paraphernalia , hypodermic needles and a stolen gas card. The suspects include a 30-year-old El Cajon resident and two men from Santee,  ages 25 and 23.

Although investigators expect that the arrests will quell the series of thefts,  they are urging residents to remove valuables, lock the doors of their vehicles, and if possible, park in a well-lit area.  Any valuable items left inside a parked car should be hidden from view.

“If (a thief) sees anything they like, they will get inside that car, one way or another,”  Poulin said.

Investigators have identified one victim but are certain there are several others.  Anyone who believes they had items stolen from their car should contact Det. Massey at (619) 956-4057.

Search & Rescue Squad Trains at Mast Park

Mary Ann and Tom Bennett with Cody

What looked like a massive search and rescue operation this morning at Mast Park was actually a training exercise involving some 20 volunteers, nine rescue dogs, several uniformed deputies and a mobile command unit from the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

The training allows the rescue volunteers and dog handlers to sharpen their skills and to qualify as expert witnesses for court cases, said Sgt. Don Parker, the team’s supervisor.

In one of the exercises, the specially trained dogs were given the scent from a pair of jogging shorts and were sent across the park to find the person. The dogs included beagles, bloodhounds, golden retrievers and border collies.

Three deputies and a rescue dog from Riverside County also participated. Observing it all as students were four members of the Polk County, Iowa Sheriff’s Department, who intend to create their own rescue team when they return home.

“We’re trying to show the Iowa folks how a real search and rescue operation will occur from top to bottom,” Parker said.

Among the cadre of orange-shirted rescue volunteers were Mary Ann Bennett, a part-time office aide at the Santee City Clerk’s Office, and her husband, Tom, a retired sheriff’s department captain, and their rescue dog-in-training, Cody.

The all-volunteer Sheriff’s Search & Rescue team includes some 190 people who perform wilderness and urban rescues and search for missing persons. Teams are available 24 hours a day to respond to local, state and federal agency requests.

To learn more, you can visit the team’s website at http://bit.ly/leuaZr