Yosemite National Park (CA)
Three Arrested For Multiple Auto Burglaries
On the afternoon of Thursday, July 23rd, a park visitor reported that someone had broken into her vehicle and that a purse was missing. A short time later, a visitor at the Arch Rock entrance station reported seeing a man in a silver-colored Chevrolet Impala throw a purse out the car’s window. The driver avoided the entrance station kiosk by traveling through the employee-only lane and left the park. Shortly thereafter, a park employee found and turned in a purse at the entrance station. A responding ranger was flagged down and told about the two auto burglaries and the missing purses. One of those turned out to be the one turned in at Arch Rock. It was missing more than $1,000 in cash. The dispatch center for the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office was notified and two deputies stopped the Impala on Highway 140. They detained the three occupants until rangers arrived. The rangers took all three into custody, charging each with four counts of theft (one felony and three Class A misdemeanors) and one count of possession of stolen property (a felony). In all, four vehicles were burglarized and over $2,100 in cash was taken. The trio who were arrested had $2,160 in cash in their possession. Evidence in the vehicle also linked them to recent auto burglaries in the Central Valley.