A 77-year-old Truckee homeowner died in Washoe County, Nevada last month, and within weeks, investigators say his unoccupied home had been ransacked, with firearms, money and a vehicle missing. Now two San Mateo County residents are facing charges in connection with the burglary of Eugene “Gene” Canata's property.
According to The Sacramento Bee, Canata had his primary residence in Truckee, within Nevada County, but died in October in Washoe County, Nevada. The investigation opened on Oct. 22, when a public administrator with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office was notified of his death, the paper reports. Authorities said at the time that no next of kin or will had been immediately located, according to News 4.
Guns, Cash and a Car Reported Missing
With no family identified, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office public administrator took on responsibility for safeguarding Canata's assets and settling his affairs. During a late-October property check, the administrator found that Canata's Truckee home had been burglarized — several belongings, including firearms, money and a vehicle, had been stolen, per the Sacramento Bee's report.
That discovery led investigators to Angela “Angie” Louise Damico, 55, of Belmont, and Michael John Robertson, 64, of San Carlos, both arrested on suspicion of burglary at Canata's Truckee home, authorities said. The pair were taken into custody on Nov. 5 at their respective San Mateo County homes, after the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office executed search warrants alongside Nevada County investigators, according to the same account.
Damico's Power-of-Attorney Claim Unverified
Investigators said Damico reported having personal ties to Canata and claimed to be his power of attorney, but she was unable to provide any paperwork or a will to verify the claim, the Sacramento Bee reports. The Nevada County Sheriff's Office has not specified how Damico knew Canata.
Personal property belonging to Canata was located at both suspects' residences when the warrants were served, the sheriff's office said, per the same News 4 report. Separately, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office found property tied to an unrelated case at Robertson's home, authorities said, and he faces additional charges connected to that evidence — though the sheriff's office has released no further details on those charges.
Damico and Robertson face charges of second-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime, vehicle theft and grand theft, authorities said. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the two San Mateo County residents were arrested for allegedly burglarizing the deceased man's unoccupied Truckee home.
Search for Rightful Heirs Continues
The Nevada County Sheriff's Office says it will continue overseeing Canata's belongings while the search for his rightful heirs goes on. California law governing power of attorney requires that the document be executed by a natural person with the capacity to contract, according to California Legislative Information, though the statute's full requirements for legal sufficiency extend well beyond that single provision.
The circumstances that connected Damico and Robertson to Canata, and how Damico came to know him, remain unclear based on what authorities have disclosed so far. The case remains under investigation by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.
