In a brazen episode of theft in Fontana, Sheriff's deputies uncovered a trove of stolen goods and an armory's worth of weapons while investigating a burglary on December 21st, officials said.
Authorities initially responded to a grand theft report at a construction site on Valley Boulevard in Bloomington, after a business owner arrived at work to find property missing and subsequently tracked down his belongings to a location at Tippecanoe Avenue in San Bernardino. The reporting party tipped off the Sheriff's Dispatch and upon arrival, Deputy Cobbs detained individuals who matched suspect descriptions and verified their involvement through video surveillance; meanwhile, Fontana Station deputies obtained a search warrant for the San Bernardino address, which led to the discovery of the cache.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department retrieved not only the stolen items from the construction site burglary but also confiscated several firearms that included an unserialized "ghost gun", a fully automatic rifle, a large amount of ammunition, an illegal large capacity magazine, and even a grenade, although it was later found to be inert by the department's Arson/Bomb Detail.
The haul also contained items indicative of extensive retail and cargo theft operations, alleged suspects, Houston Martinez and Efrain Martinez Mondragon, were found in possession of money believed to be from the sales of stolen property and extensive evidence linked them to the crime - Martinez, a confirmed felon, was found violating the law by possessing firearms and ammunition.
Following the investigation, both suspects were booked on multiple felony charges and were able to post bail, being released from West Valley Detention Center, as per the official statement published by the Sheriff's Department on their Nixle alert.
The authorities are urging anyone with further information on this incident to come forward and contact the Fontana Sheriff’s Station at (909) 356-6767 or to submit tips anonymously via the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME or their website at www.wetip.com.
