Carson City Sheriff's deputies crack burglary case with two arrests

A man and woman were arrested Wednesday, Feb. 20 and Thursday, Feb. 21, respectively, in connection with a residential burglary investigation in Carson City.

Stephanie Baumgardner and Leonard Martinez, both of Carson City, were taken into custody by Carson City Sheriff's deputies and detectives while investigating the burglary of a disabled resident on Beverly Drive.

The victim, a disabled veteran, and his caregiver reported the break-in on Friday, Feb. 15 upon returning from a rehabilitation facility. Numerous items were reported missing inside the residence, according to the arrest report, including three of the victim's credit cards.

One of those cards had been discovered by the victim and his caregiver being used at a restaurant on Retail Drive in Carson City on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.

An investigating Sheriff's deputy obtained video surveillance from the restaurant showing a white female and taller hispanic male enter the establishment at 5:48 p.m. The female entered the store carrying what appeared to be plastic shopping bags and passing back and forth what appeared to be a credit card with her male companion, the report said.

The female then placed the order with the credit card in the amount of $26.65, the report said.

Law enforcement officers reviewing the surveillance video identified the female suspect as Baumgardner from multiple prior burglary investigations. The male subject was also identified as having an outstanding misdemeanor contempt of court warrant out for his arrest by the Carson City Justice Court, the report said.

Deputies arrived at the Hot Springs Road residence where Baumgardner and the male subject lived, making contact with both individuals. The male was placed in custody on the confirmed arrest warrant, the report said, while Baumgardner was detained in handcuffs as a suspect in the burglary investigation.

Baumgardner interrupted the deputy Mirandizing her, stating that she understood her rights. The deputy informed her that she was identified in a surveillance video using a stolen credit card at a restaurant.

Baumgardner then told deputies that she used the credit card in question at the restaurant that she got the credit card from a female associate of hers, the report said.

She was arrested for using the stolen credit card and transported to the Carson City Sheriff's Office for further questioning. There she was Mirandized again and agreed to speak with deputies.

Baumgardner stated that she and her female associate had been released from jail on Feb. 8. Both had also been subjects of a prior commercial burglary investigation from 2017, the report noted.

Baumgardner said she was at the apartment of her associate's boyfriend on Feb. 14, a residence on East Long Street, where the other female gave Baumgardner the credit card to buy pizza with. Baumgardner stated that she thought the card had belonged to her associate's grandfather and did not ask questions, the report said.

The victim's credit card was also reportedly used at a Carson City retail store, and when deputies informed Baumgardner, she admitted to using the card there, too.

Baumgardner continued speaking with deputies, elaborating that she had observed property piled up in the East Long Street apartment of her associate's boyfriend. Some of the items she described matched those that could have been taken from the victim's residence, the report said.

Surveillance video from the apartment complex where the victim residence showed a female at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 17 using a flashlight and appeared to going to all the ground floor apartment patios, the report said.

Footprints found on scene in the snow from the female were followed and noted to have been at all the ground floor patios on the ground floor. The same footprints were then observed to lead away in the direct of the East Long Street apartment.

The female on the surveillance video had the similar height and size to Baumgardner, who was subsequently booked into the Carson City Jail on charges of felony burglary, using a credit card without the owner’s consent, as well as misdemeanor obtaining goods under false pretenses.

Baumgardner implicated her female associate and the associate's boyfriend, identified as Leonard Martinez, the report said.

An active bench warrant issued by the Carson City Justice Court for failure to appear on a traffic citation was confirmed for Martinez and law enforcement performed surveillance on his East Long Street residence.

Martinez was observed leaving the apartment on foot Wednesday, Feb. 21 at about 4 p.m. He was subsequently stopped and detained by officers.

A Sheriff's deputy made contact with Martinez, recording the interaction on body camera. He was informed that law enforcement was investigating a burglary and that information was received implicating him and his girlfriend, the report said.

Upon being Mirandized, Martinez agreed to speak with law enforcement, implicating Baumgardner in the burglary and reporting that she had taken some of the property to his apartment that he shared with his elderly mother.

Martinez agreed to take deputies to his apartment to look for the property and speak with his mother.

Contact was made with the mother, who allowed deputies into the apartment and permitted them to search the residence.

She told deputies that there had been two females at the apartment and that she had been given some property, the report said.

Martinez admitted to having knowledge of the burglary, reporting that during the night of February 11 or 12, he, his girlfriend and Baumgardner were walking west on Long Street toward his apartment when Baumgardner "went off to do her own thing."

He stated Baumgardner later brought in baskets of property inside his apartment, the report said.

The three of them then sorted through some of the property and Baumgardner left that night with some of the property she wanted to sell. The next day Martinez threw some of the property away in a dumpster outside of his apartment.

Baumgardner later returned to Martinez’s apartment on February 13 and asked him to pawn some items at a local retail shop, the report said.

An investigating deputy confirmed with the retailer that Martinez sold it placer gold on February 13.

During a search of the apartment, the burglary victim's Navy record was located in a waste basket with Baumgardner’s casino player cards. Martinez's mother also identified a jewelry box and cuff links that had been given to her, the report said.

Martinez confirmed Baumgardner gave those items to his mother from the stolen property. He further identified a large black trail camera found in his apartment that had also been left by Baumgardner. Value of the items recovered from the apartment appeared to be less than $650, the report said.

Other items recovered during the residence search included methamphetamine pipes with meth residue still on them. Martinez admitted to making the pipes and smoking meth, the report said. He was charged with felony drug possession as well as misdemeanor paraphernalia possession.

Martinez's girlfriend arrived at the apartment during the residence search and was questioned with regard to the burglary investigation. The girlfriend stated that she and Martinez had been walking back to the apartment with Baumgardner, who then disappeared and later came back to Martinez's apartment with property, the report said.

The girlfriend stated she helped bring up some of the property into the apartment, and she knew Baumgardner had taken the property from somewhere that night. She said she saw Baumgardner in the apartment with several credit cards.

Both Martinez and Baumgardner were booked into the Carson City Jail on separate felony and misdemeanor charges.

Bail for Baumgardner: $25,000; Bail for Martinez: $2,500.

All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.