Two men were detained in recent days following a months-long investigation into burglaries in Temecula and throughout Southern California, the sheriff’s department announced Thursday.
Dache Kelly Jr., age 23 and a resident of Riverside was apprehended on June 9 and remains incarcerated at the Robert Presley Detention Center.
According to court documents, he pled not guilty to 19 felony offenses, including multiple counts of burglary, grand larceny, and vandalism. He was being detained on a $120,000 bond, and his next court date is scheduled for June 22.
Lehman Frank Mitchell, 42, of Moreno Valley was detained on June 13 and is currently being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to court documents, he pled not guilty to being a convicted felon and a drug addict in possession of a firearm and ammunition, both felonies. If he is proven culpable, he will also face enhanced penalties due to his criminal record.
On June 21, he will attend a criminal settlement conference on $10,000 bond.
According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation into the men became clearer shortly before 4 a.m. on May 22 when deputies were dispatched to the 27300 block of Jefferson Avenue in Temecula in response to a business alarm.
When deputies arrived, they found that the business had been burglarized and money had been stolen.
Investigators obtained information identifying a suspect vehicle as a white Audi SUV with a large sunroof. According to the sheriff’s department, it was the same one used in a separate commercial burglary on April 9 in the 28400 block of Old Town Front Street in Temecula.
On June 9, deputies located the SUV in Moreno Valley near the 12400 block of Perris Boulevard. According to the department, upon searching it, “multiple items of evidentiary value from the recent burglaries” were discovered. Kelly, the driver, was apprehended.
Mitchell was linked to the burglary on May 22 through leads and video surveillance, but both men are responsible for a number of other commercial burglaries in multiple Southern California counties, according to the sheriff’s department.
