Clearlake >> Two Sonoma County men were allegedly found with a number of tools stolen from bulldozers being used to contain the Clayton Fire.
Lights, a chainsaw, other items and a handheld GPS unit were taken from the United States Forest Service equipment at the Eastlake Landfill just outside of Clearlake, Sgt. Tim Hobbs stated in a media release.
Clearlake officers Travis Parson and Leonardo Flores responded to the burglary call made Wednesday at about 9:45 a.m. While checking for evidence, they found two different shoe prints on the bulldozers and on the ground, neither of which matched firefighters’ shoes and would later link the suspects to the scene of the crime, Hobbs stated.
Firefighter described seeing a late ‘90s white Chevrolet dual-wheel truck with a bicycle in the bed and two men in their 50s leaving the location when they arrived Wednesday. Clearlake detective Elvis Cook saw a vehicle matching the description at about 3:30 p.m. that same day.
He conducted a traffic stop as it pulled up to a parked truck at Redbud Park. When Cook spoke with both drivers, identified as Larry Hunter and Paul Albini, he could see several of the stolen items in plain view in the bed of the two pickup trucks and inside the cabs, Hobbs stated. Additionally, Hunter, 52, and Albini, 47, had methamphetamine with them.
Firefighters positively identified Hunter and Albini as the people they saw driving away from the bulldozers in the white pickup truck. The suspects were also were wearing shoes that matched the two different style shoe prints on the bulldozers, Hobbs reported.
All of the stolen items except for the handheld GPS unit were located in the pickup trucks belonging to Hunter and Albini.
Both suspects were arrested and booked into the Lake County jail. They face charges of grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.
