Riverside police arrest pair of suspects for at least 28 burglaries across four SoCal counties
Riverside police on Thursday announced the arrest of two suspects whom they believe to be responsible for more than two dozen burglaries across four Southern California counties over recent months.
In a statement, Riverside Police Department says that detectives with the Property Crimes Unit "began noticing a trend of commercial burglaries where jukeboxes were broken into while the business was closed" in January.
Investigators began looking into the incidents over the next few months and were able to identify two of the possible suspects involved in the incidents, which occurred at restaurants, bars a golf course lounge and even at veterinary hospitals.
"They learned the suspects were also breaking into businesses in other cities and jurisdictions," the statement said. In all, the two suspects are believed to have committed at least 28 burglaries in four counties including Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino.
On Friday, police arrested one of the two suspects, 23-year-old Riverside man Dache Kelly. He was booked on numerous charges that included commercial burglary, grand theft and conspiracy and is being held on $120,000 bail.
Days later, officers were able to obtain a search warrant for a home in San Bernardino, where they believed the second suspect was living.
While serving the search warrant, officers arrested 42-year-old San Bernardino resident Lehman Mitchell. They also found three handguns, two of which they say were stolen, a short-barreled and unserialized rifle, ammunition, money and tools that are commonly used to commit burglaries, said the RPD statement.
Mitchell has been booked on multiple counts of commercial burglary, several weapons charges, which included being an ex-felon and committing a crime while out on bail or release. He was being held on $220,000 bail.
"We have seen a significant increase in burglaries to our local businesses here in Riverside just this year," said RPD Chief Larry Gonzalez. "Our hope is for state legislators to amend current laws that will better hold these criminals accountable for damage and losses they are causing to our business owners. But in the meantime, our detectives will keep working feverishly to protect Riverside."
As they continue to investigate the incidents, detectives are working to determine whether the pair are responsible for any other burglaries in the area. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact investigators at (951) 826-5376.
