Ventura County – In recent weeks, residents of the city of Camarillo were victimized by random thefts of mail and United Parcel Service deliveries. The crimes first surfaced with the report of mail stolen from a residential mailbox on February 12th and 13th. A week later, on February 20th, a UPS delivery of a package containing a mail-order automotive part was stolen from the front porch of a Camarillo home.
At that point, law enforcement began investigating these incidents and discovered that the distinctive auto part reportedly stolen had appeared as advertised for sale on a Ventura County Craigslist posting. According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Pete O’Sullivan, “Detectives were able to identify the seller of the part as Ethan Gross,” an individual known to law enforcement in the area as currently on probation for various “narcotics, burglary, and other theft-related offenses.”
With that information in hand, detectives enforced the terms of Gross’s probation via an unannounced search of his residence on February 27th. Found during that search was the stolen car part, motivating detectives’ interest in making personal contact with Gross. Later that same day, Gross was found sequestered in a Camarillo motel, whereupon the room he had booked was searched as well, leading to the discovery of unnamed controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, and articles of stolen mail.
Gross was taken into custody without incident and transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, identity theft, possession of narcotics, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, with his bail set at $80,000.
Photo: courtesy www.facebook.com
Read more:
Citizens Journal: Camarillo police nab mail thief
EdHat: Mail thief suspect arrested
