A total of four suspects have now been arrested in San Luis Obispo in the past week for possession of stolen property. San Luis Police investigators believe the property may be linked to a rash of burglaries.

Gerald Smalley

Arthur Rocha

The suspects arrested are Courtney Cardoza, 36, and Ryan Krebs, 35, who were arrested last Thursday, and Gerald Smalley, 34, and Arthur Rocha, 33, arrested Sunday. All are from San Luis Obispo, except Rocha who is from Oceano.

SLOPD states the department has served nine search warrants in the past two weeks in an effort to find out who is responsible for the recent burglaries. The four suspects were a product of the searches. So far, SLOPD investigators have been able to identify approximately 50 stolen items belonging to 15 different victims.  These victims include residents of San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Avila Beach, Atascadero, and Grover Beach.

Police say some of the recovered stolen items include a stolen vehicle, cash, laptop computers, iPads, digital cameras, bicycles, cell phones, jewelry, fishing gear, purses, credit cards, gift cards, passports, and check books.  Police also say the original reported crimes include residential, commercial, and vehicle burglaries.

Police Investigators are currently inventorying the recovered stolen property and attempting to identify any additional victims.  Investigators say some of the recovered items may not have been reported stolen by the victims.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department is encouraging anyone who may have been a victim of a recent burglary, to contact a local law enforcement agency and file a police report.

Currently the investigation is ongoing and investigators are working additional leads.  Anyone with information regarding these crimes is urged to call the San Luis Obispo Police Department at (805)781-7317 or Crime Stopper at (805)549-STOP.

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The Taco Temple Restaurant was being used as a drug outlet to peddle cocaine

Deputies of the San Luis Obispo Narcotics Unit swarmed Taco Temple on Wednesday in Morro Bay in an attempt to locate narcotics.

Deputies served simultaneous search warrants at the Morro Bay business, located at 2680 Main Street, and another at a residence in Los Osos, located at 2788 Clark Valley Road. The search warrants netted an arrest of one man and cocaine packaged for sale.

Efrain Ramirez was accused of selling drugs out of his home and his workplace

Deputies took into custody Efrain Herrera Ramirez, 44, of Los Osos at the restaurant. According to the Sheriff’s Department, narcotics and cash were found at the restaurant and also Ramirez’ home. Police say Ramirez is suspected of dealing out of the kitchen of the business.

Ramirez was booked into county jail on transportation and sales of a controlled substance. He was also identified as a previously deported criminal alien with a hold placed by immigration and customs enforcement.

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Roberto Elizarraraz, Jr., 19, of Highland, and Angel Xavier Perez, 28, of Redlands, were shot in the driveway at an apartment residence on the 1400 block of North Sepulveda Ave., according to police records. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Sgt. Gary Robertson said the suspects, described as two unknown male Hispanics in their 20s, were engaged in an argument with the victims. “That argument appears to have sparked the shooting,” said Robertson, who said the suspects fled on foot.

Police arrived minutes after getting the call at 9:16 p.m. and found the victims in the driveway suffering from gunshot wounds.

The deaths occurred just a few days after another fatal shooting nearby. Robertson said a previous shooting, one that killed 15-year-old Steven Guzman on Jan. 27 in the same area, does not appear to be related. Guzman was shot in the 1500 block of Belle St., less than a half-mile from Wednesday’s shooting. Guzman was shot by a man from a passing car while he was walking through the neighborhood, according to coroner’s reports. He died at nearby Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Both shootings occurred a short distance from downtown, which includes City Hall, the Mexican consulate and several county offices.
Det. Steve Turner (909-384-5647) is heading up the investigation, said Robertson.

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Just before 4 a.m. on January 30, Milpitas police officers noticed a fence surrounding a vacant business had been cut and spotted the beam of a flashlight coming from inside the building, authorities say.

The officers entered the building to investigate and located 29-year-old Donica Martinez of San Jose. Martinez allegedly had copper pipe and wire in her possession when she was found, according to Milpitas police.

Officers then located 50-year-old Deborah Ibarra, also of San Jose, who had been sitting in a parked car just outside the building. A search of the vehicle turned up more copper wire and piping, according to police. Officers also reportedly found Ibarra in possession of a hypodermic needle and a methamphetamine pipe.

Martinez was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. Ibarra was arrested for burglary, possession of burglary tools, possession of a hypodermic needle, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Both women were booked into Santa Clara County Jail.

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San Luis Police detectives are searching for multiple suspects who are responsible for breaking into the Skate Warehouse in SLO early Wednesday morning.

According to SLOPD, they received a call around 5:30 a.m. from the manager of the Skate Warehouse that is located at 3566 South Higuera Street. The manager informed police he had just arrived at work and saw flashlights inside the warehouse and could hear rustling noises inside. The manager also told police that before he called them he entered the warehouse and turned on the lights but did not see the suspects.

According to police, the suspects exited the store and fled the area prior to their arrival. They left through a hole they had cut into a large metal rollup warehouse door in order to enter the premises, according to SLOPD. The suspects also cut through a chain link fence which allowed them access to the property and an easy escape route.

Police say they were able to view video of the parking lot, which shows a white Econoline van arriving and departing prior to the call to the police.

It appears the suspects stole a large amount of skate shoes, although a complete inventory still has to be completed by employees.

“Currently this is the fourth reported commercial burglary involving a warehouse of a shoe supplier.  San Luis Obispo Police Investigators believe the suspects committing these crimes are part of an organized crime group out of southern California.  It is believed the group is often made up of four or more suspects and transport the stolen property in a white cargo type van.  These vans are often stolen near the reported burglary.  Investigators are working closely with southern California law enforcement agencies who are investigating similar commercial burglaries,” said Lieutenant Jeffery Smith in a SLOPD press release.

SLOPD is encouraging business owners to make sure their business is properly secured at night and alarm systems activated.  Anyone who sees suspicious activity near businesses in the late or early morning hours is encouraged to contact the police department.

Currently the investigation is ongoing, anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to call the San Luis Obispo Police Department at (805)781-7317 or Crime Stopper at (805)549-STOP.

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Leo Ray Perez, 29, was arrested at his home in the 900 block of Calhoun Street, officers having located a laptop computer that had been stolen a short time earlier from a locked storage shed at the Holy Name of Jesus Church on Columbia Street.

Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker said officers learned of several recent thefts from the church at a lunch organized by congregation members last week. Baker said officers “implemented a strategy to identify the thief.”

Baker did not elaborate on the process, saying, “We won’t discuss the investigative techniques used to identify, locate and arrest the suspect.”
The first theft, he said, occurred on New Year’s Eve and was reported immediately. On January 23, officers learned of the additional burglaries.

During the weeks after the initial burglary, other items had been stolen from the church, including a freezer and two griddles. When officers were alerted to a theft in progress on Tuesday, they identified Perez as a suspect.

Baker said officers responded to Perez’s residence, located a short distance from the church, and located the laptop computer hidden inside a washing machine. Officers also located a tool used to pry open the tool shed, it was reported.

Baker said he did not know if Perez attended the church. “Unless it was vital to our investigation,” he said, “we would not release that information, anyway.”

Charges against Perez will be determined by the district attorney, said Baker.

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According to the Daily Republic, police searched for the suspect after the robbery was reported at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Police were informed that an armed man entered the business and showed an employee the gun in his waistband. The suspect left the business with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was reported injured during the incident.

Armed Robbery

The suspect was seen leaving the car wash in an older red Dodge Caravan. Police stopped a vehicle a short time after the robbery that happened to be near the car wash as a California Highway Patrol plane circled the vehicle overhead. The vehicle fit the description of the car the suspect was witnessed to be driving, but was found not to be the vehicle the police were searching for.

A car wash employee recognized the suspect as a former employee, according to the Daily Republic.

Police began searching for 33-year-old Don Diaz of Suisun City, going to his residence located on Tulare Circle, shortly after the robbery. Law enforcement surrounded the home before entering. Once inside the residence, police found that Diaz was not there, but they talked with his mother and sister. Police found that the van is owned by Diaz’s mother. The van was later found to be abandoned at a shopping center in Fairfield, according to the Daily Republic.

On Friday night, about 24 hours after the robbery was reported, police located Diaz in a motel room in Vallejo. He was arrested and booked into the county jail. Diaz’s bail was set for $100,000.

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A black Nissan Altima had been reported stolen in a carjacking on Sunday night in San Bernardino. On Monday, a deputy attempted to pull the car over at Mountain View Ave. and Redlands Blvd. in Loma Linda. The driver, Bobby Aguirre, 26, sped away in the Altima, deputies stated in a release.

When other deputies were called into the chase, one attempted to bump the Altima with his police cruiser in an attempt to disable the car and make it stop, but it didn’t work. Aguirre eventually stopped on his own, and was arrested after a 14-minute chase that ended on Fifth St. in San Bernardino, just east of Waterman Ave., according to reports.

Aguirre, of San Bernardino, and one of the deputies were injured slightly when the two got into a slight physical altercation, according to reports. While Aguirre was treated at the scene, the deputy was treated and released at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

Deputies booked Aguirre into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on bail set at $250,000, charged with a felony count of evading a peace officer and resisting arrest. Aguirre had already been scheduled to face other charges, according to records.

Aguirre, who was being held on $190,000 total bail on other vehicular and drug charges, is scheduled to appear in county court in both Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana.

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Clovis teacher Neng Yang is charged with molestation and child pornography

Neng Yang, 43, has been a teacher with Freedom Elementary since 2007, but has worked in Clovis Unified School District in some capacity for 18 years. He is now being accused of 18 counts of child molestation, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, nine counts of having a minor perform prohibited acts, and nine counts of possessing material depicting a minor engaging in or simulating sexual conduct.

These incidents date back to the beginning of January, police said.

According to court documents, Yang first came under suspicion when the victim’s mother arrived to school on Jan. 26 before her daughter’s class was out and noticed that her daughter was not in P.E. with the rest of the students. After school, the mother asked her daughter why she wasn’t in P.E. According to court documents, the daughter said that her teacher, Yang, had kept her in the classroom, turned off the lights, blindfolded her, and made her play the “lollipop game.”  In this “game,” she was instructed by Yang to suck on what he said were lollipops and guess their flavors.

The next day, police obtained a search warrant for Yang’s phone and discovered videos and photos of the blindfolded victim performing oral sex on the suspect. The photos had date stamps that showed they were taken on Jan. 26. Police also obtained a search warrant for two external hard drives found in a black computer bag in Yang’s classroom.

“The drives contained at least two other sets of videos where the victim is blindfolded and orally copulating Yang,” Robert Benesiewicz, special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security office in Fresno, said in his court statement.

The two videos were taken in Yang’s classroom on Jan. 3, the first day back to school, and on Jan. 12. A search of Yang’s computer revealed 75 images of adult bestiality and a search history of “adult teen titled pornography.”

So far, no other victims have stepped forward. “At this time, we believe there is only one victim,” said Calli Biaggi with the Clovis Police Department.

Meanwhile, parents and employees at the school district are left shocked and upset by Yang’s alleged actions. “The severity of this situation and the allegations, the charges that have been filed against this individual are unlike anything that anyone in the combined history of our district can remember,” said Kelly Avants, spokesperson for Clovis Unified School District.

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Sarah Elizabeth Drown

A San Miguel woman was arrested Monday by San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s deputies for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old juvenile.

Sarah Elizabeth Drown, 20, a part-time afterschool program coordinator at Lillian Larsen School in San Miguel was taken into custody by deputies after reports surfaced of a sexual affair between her and a male student. The affair, according to the sheriff’s department, occurred in November 2011. Drown was charged with engaging in unlawful intercourse with a minor.

According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Drown was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the allegations. It was also reported by the Tribune that a letter was sent to parents of the San Miguel School District by its superintendent, Curt Dubost.

In this letter, Dubost said, “Please be assured that the district will take all action necessary to ensure students’ safety while they are attending school or school-sponsored programs. The employee has been placed on leave and has been directed not to be on the grounds of any of the schools, and she is prohibited from contacting students, parents or staff members.”

Drown was booked in San Luis Obispo County Jail. Her bail was set at $20,000.

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