Hundreds show up to claim stolen possessions

Erica Heartquist Reports

Dec 6, 2006 08:09 AM CST

 

Hundreds of hopeful people lined up Tuesday at Tucson Police Headquarters, hoping to recover their belongings stolen by a band of burglars. Tucson police say the burglars spent the summer targeting Tucson homes and taking what they could find.

 

Tucson Police recovered $200,000 worth of property stolen from more than two dozen homes on the east side of Tucson, past the Craycroft area.

 

It's the handiwork, police say, of three families behind the burglary ring. Police say they picked houses by knocking on doors to see if anyone was home.Tuesday afternoon, people packed police headquarters to try to locate their stolen stuff. The line was out the door as more than 250 people sifted through more than 300 items on the tables. They were all looking for items stolen in the mostly-Eastside burglary ring. There were rings, watches, necklaces, camcorders and even a gun on the tables.

 

Police say they're all stolen and worth an estimated $200,000.

 

Everything there was recovered after police arrested a crew of 14 people. Police say the three ring-leaders were two juveniles and Julio Alvarez. The merchandise was all recovered from seven different pawn shops in the area.

 

Detective Carol Dover with the Tucson Police Department said, "There's a good possibility that there are several victims still outstanding from these same burglars, and we have, probably, a lot of property out here to indicate so. We just have not been able to identify those victims, and we're hoping to be able to do that today."

 

Homeowner Billy Faircloth was looking for his old pistol, a watch he bought in Japan, and valuable rings, including a wedding band. He says about $4,000 worth of jewelry and coins were stolen from his home. "To have your house burglarized, you feel like you've just been violated, you know?"

 

Faircloth's Midtown home was burglarized August 23rd of this year. "And they cut the screen and then opened up the other door and came in." After looking through all the stolen property, Faircloth did not find his stuff. It's what he expected, because it's been four months. He says his property is probably long gone by now.

 

Each person was asked to bring a proof of purchase or pictures of the items stolen in order to prove ownership. If there is a match, it's then up to a judge to decide between the victims and the pawn shops to see whether the items will go back to the people claiming they were stolen.

 

George St. Amand lives on the northwest side of town. He was burglarized November 2004. St. Amand had about $8,000 worth of jewelry stolen. "It's been two years, you know, but you can't give up. You got to keep trying," he said. When we asked him if he comes every time, St. Amand told News 4, "Every time I hear about it, every time, yeah. But, so far no luck."