CAPITOLA – A man wanted in a series of commercial and residential burglaries in Lake County was arrested in Capitola after trying to hide out with Relatives.
Jeffery Stokes, 25 of Upper Lake, a community along the shores of Clear Lake, 200 miles north of Santa Cruz County, was wanted in a series of robberies he is accused of committing with his partner in crime, 46-year-old Kimberly Jo Harvey. When Ms. Harvey was arrested at the Anchorage Inn in Lakeport, it was a direct result of Stokes being seen by the motel manager trying to jimmy the laundry machine for quarters. He had matched the description of one of a pair who had apparently robbed several locations in the small town. When the manager brought police to his room, it was Kimberly Harvey they found. She was arrested as the other person they were looking for in the robberies, as she matched the description, and there was ample evidence in the room to connect them with the thefts. The pair had also left plenty of evidence at the burglaries and attempted burglaries, including tools and stolen mail.
However, Stokes had left his cohort high and dry, and was nowhere to be found. A warrant was issued for his arrest on January 9. According to Lakeport Police, last Friday, January 17, they were contacted by the police in Capitola to confirm the warrant, because they had been alerted that he was in the area. He had shown up at an acquaintance’s home and wanted to talk to his grandfather, who had since, however, moved out of state. After speaking on the phone he took off to the Capitola mall to “See what’s going on” according to a person at the house. His intimidating presence prompted a call to the police to see if he was in trouble, and so they learned that he was likely going to the mall.
Capitola Police officers located him there at about 2 pm, and when contacted, he claimed to be someone else, or at least made up a name. They weren’t fooled, but were able to tack on a charge of their own to go with the Lakeport police’s list, of providing false information to police. Stokes will be transported to Lake County once he has been processed by Santa Cruz County on the local charges. Lakeport PD have expressed their appreciation for the number of tips they received in tracking down their fugitive.
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CrimeVoice: Lake County pair leave lots of clues in a series of burglaries
