CLEARLAKE — A man and a woman were placed under arrest early Thursday morning following reports of vehicle break-ins at a Clearlake hotel.
At about?4:22 a.m. Clearlake Police Officers Collier and Middleton responded to a report of a person attempting to break in to parked vehicles at the El Grande Best Western hotel at 15135 Lakeshore Drive.
Officers arrived on scene and contacted James Metzger,19, of Clearlake in the parking lot.?
Metzger denied being involved in criminal activity and provided officers a plausible reason for being in the parking lot. While the officers were speaking with Metzger, a witness contacted the officers and identified a woman as the person they had allegedly seen attempting to break into the vehicles.?
The witness pointed to a woman who was across Lakeshore Drive near the Magic Wok Chinese Restaurant and identified her as the suspect.
Initially believing that Metzger was not involved, the officers attempted to contact the woman identified by the witness.?
Cynthia Russell,22, of Clearlake ran and led officers on a short foot pursuit. She dropped a backpack during the chase. Russell was ultimately apprehended by the officers.?
Narcotics were reportedly found in the backpack that was allegedly discarded by Russell.?
The officers returned to El Grande and discovered that several items were stolen from a black Dodge pickup parked on the property.?The truck”s owner was located and identified items stolen from the truck. The items included a GPS unit, several dollars worth of quarters in a small distinctive bag, a black bag containing miscellaneous property and a Glock handgun.?
The bag containing the coins was specific and easily identifiable. The officers recalled seeing Metzger holding this same bag of coins when they originally contacted him only a short time earlier.?
Officers searched the area for Metzger but were not able to locate him. Officers developed information that Metzger and Russell, who were determined to know each other, conspired to steal property from parked vehicles.??
At about?7:30 a.m. officers drove to Metzger”s listed address in the 14300 block of Pearl Ave. and found Metzger asleep in the home. He was taken into custody without incident.
Detective Ryan Peterson obtained a search warrant for Metzger”s home and the home was later searched by officers.?Stolen property from the Dodge truck was reportedly found inside Metzger”s home.?
While searching the home, officers discovered additional stolen property from several other reported thefts, one of which had occurred the previous night from a parked vehicle at El Grande.?
The stolen Glock handgun has not yet been located. Officers are continuing their investigation and trying to connect Russell and Metzger to other recent thefts. Both suspects were booked into the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.?
Russell was charged with felony violations of possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy and misdemeanor violations of tampering with a vehicle, prowling and resisting officers. Metzger was charged with felony violations of grand theft of a gun and conspiracy. He was also charged with misdemeanor violations of prowling and tampering with a vehicle. Additional charges are likely forthcoming, according to the Clearlake Police, on both suspects.
Clearlake Police Department officials expressed gratitude to the witness who came forward and assisted police with this capture, which ultimately led to the recovery of several stolen items from several different thefts in Clearlake.?Anyone with information about this crime or any other crime is urged to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.
