REDDING – A group of flight school students who came from China to study in Redding had their Trudie Lane apartment burglarized multiple times, apparently by the same person.
It began in the early morning hours of Saturday, January 25. The Chinese students awoke to find that their apartment had been burglarized overnight, and several electronic items were missing, including cell phones and laptop computers. they reported the thefts to the Redding police, and filed a report on the incident.
Redding police found their suspect during a probation search at a property along Old Alturas Road.
Just two days later, late Sunday night into the early hours of Monday, one of the students, 22-year-old Ding Shao, woke upon hearing an intruder in the apartment again. He confronted the man, who struck him several times in the head and face with what he believed was a handgun. The burglar left the apartment in a hurry, with more electronic loot, but leaving his flashlight behind. Shao and his roommates again reported the incident, and he was treated for his injuries at the Shasta Regional Medical Center emergency room, having suffered lacerations and abrasions.
The burglar, who got away, must have thought he had found a gold mine in the foreign students’ apartment, because after waiting two weeks, he returned once again on Monday night or early Tuesday morning, February 11. Perhaps anticipating both increased security, and the replacement of the students’ devices, this time he brought a drill so he could bore a hole through the door. He once again found several more cell phones and computer laptops or pads, and got away without being confronted.
Two weeks later, the case broke wide open. Yesterday, Tuesday February 25 at 2 pm. Redding Police investigators were conducting a probation search at a home at 1400 Old Alturas Road, just about 2 blocks from the Trudie Lane apartments, which are actually on Dana Drive. As they arrived, a young man was walking out, and he was addressed by the detectives. He happened to match the description of the man who had attacked Shao. He also had with him a pellet gun modeled to look like a real revolver, a set of lock picking tools, and some hypodermic syringes.
David Alexander Ruiz
The young man was identified as 20-year-old David Alexander Ruiz or Oregon, who has no permanent address, but may have been lodging at the Old Alturas home while in Redding. Because of his resemblance to the burglary and assault suspect, and the presence of the pistol, he was brought into the Redding PD for questioning. He eventually confessed to the three burglaries, which in total amounted to $9,000 worth of stolen property. He also shared that he was a methamphetamine user. He was booked for three counts of residential burglary, residential robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
