Sting Leads To 2 Arrests In Theft Of 21 Guitars From Irvine Storage Unit
IRVINE (CBSLA) – A man and a woman were arrested in Ontario this week on allegations they stole 21 high-end guitars worth a combined $50,000 from a storage unit in Irvine earlier this month and then trying to sell them online.
Derek Allen Dodds, 34, and Brittney Christine Patterson, 27, both of Yucaipa, were taken into custody by Irvine police at the Ontario Mills shopping outlet Tuesday.
Eighteen of the 21 guitars have been recovered, police said.
The investigation began on Oct. 3, when 21 high-end guitars were pilfered from a storage unit at Extra Space Storage on Laguna Canyon Road in Irvine, police said.
Investigators discovered that the several of the stolen guitars were being sold online and set up a meeting with the seller for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Ontario Mills mall.
At that meeting, officers apprehended Dodds and Patterson and discovered three of the stolen guitars in their car, police said.
Eleven of the guitars were later found at the suspects' home. As of Thursday, three of the 21 stolen guitars remain missing.
Furthermore, police believe that the two suspects may be responsible for two other storage unit break-ins in Irvine that occurred in July. One of those break-ins resulted in the theft of a safe containing collectibles.
Anyone with information on the case should call detectives at 949-724-7177.
