Burglars Steal Car Headlights In Malibu Park – Hikers Credit Cards Recovered In Ventura County
Written by 991KBU on April 9, 2020
A Malibu Park resident awoke to car burglars stealing his headlights and other property early this morning.
And the bad guys sped off, when the resident followed them to a neighbor’s house.
They were described as driving a red raised-wheel pickup truck with “Rydell” car dealership paper plates, or similar wording.
Two men have been caught wearing facemasks and respirators, buying stuff at stores over the hill using credit cards stolen during Malibu-area trailhead burglaries. And car burglars strike here in Malibu Park overnight.
Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies broke the cases using surveillance video of men wearing protective gear at different retail locations in Thousand Oaks.
The case narrative starts March 21, when two people parked and locked their vehicles at a trailhead near Lynn Road at Rancho Dos Vientos in Thousand Oaks.
After going on a hike, the victims returned to their vehicles and discovered a window had been smashed on each vehicle – purses and wallets were stolen which contained credit cards.
A detective recognized one of the suspects using stolen credit cards while wearing hats and respirator masks to hide their identities.
One suspect, Ryan Whitaker’s house was raided in Simi Valley March 24.
Stolen property from the victims’ vehicles and items purchased fraudulently with the stolen credit cards were located.
Additional stolen property was located at the residence belonging to additional victims of recent vehicle burglaries within the cities of Simi Valley and Agoura Hills. Whitaker was arrested for multiple felonies and booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura.
Through the investigation, the second suspect was identified as Kevin Reese, who was arrested in Porter Ranch. Reese had in his possession property burglarized from a vehicle in Porter Ranch on April 1.
Simi Valley police, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles police all have recovered stolen property.
Contact Detective Ryan Shoden, (805) 494-8232, if you have any information regarding these crimes.
