Dozens of burglary victims look for stolen goods at Carson City viewing

Victims by the dozens arrived at the Carson City Sheriff's Office this morning hoping to find what was stolen from them after authorities cracked a burglary ring earlier this month that is believed to have started a year ago.

Sifting through hundreds of items such as iPods, laptops, CDs, DVDs, guns, tools and guitars, many of the victims said they were hopeful they could place positive identifications on what had been taken from them.

In all, five people are believed to be involved in the five-county burglary ring, with three now in custody. The latest arrest was an 18-year-old Carson City man, Christopher Buttz, who faces charges of possession of stolen property.

Also charged are Bryan Gaudette, 27, and Heather Olea, 22. The three are being held in the Carson City Jail. Andrue Madden, 18, is still being sought by law enforcement.

According to investigators, contacts in Douglas and Washoe counties led to the recovery. It was the Carson City Sheriff’s Office that served a search warrant at one suspect’s residence, resulting in the recovery of hundreds of items linked to burglaries in all five jurisdictions, said Carson City detective Daniel Gonzales.

Detectives from Washoe County, Reno Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Carson City Sheriff’s Office, and Sparks Police Department have since developed information on additional suspects. Victims are now beginning to recover the goods. Depending on today's outcome, there could be more public displays Gonzales said.

Kurt Krug was one of the victims. The Stephanie Way resident had a briefcase and iPod — containing information on his contracting business, including credit card numbers — stolen from his unlocked vehicle.

The loss, valued $1,000, he said, doesn't even begin to shake out the value of what was inside, he said.

"This is like going to hell and back. They have no idea what kind of damage they've done," Krug said as he sifted through tables of stolen property. "The kind of information that was in the briefcase is something you don't want floating around. It's valuable to me and valuable to the names of the people inside the case."

Krug said he may have made a positive identification on the iPod and will know later today. Victims from Carson City, Douglas County, Reno and Sparks areas appeared for the showing, which lasted until 11 this morning.

Rhonda Abend had a suitcase and duffel bag stolen out of her car at her West Carson City apartment complex. Like Krug, it was the contents inside that mattered. In her case, it was her side greeting card business materials. She put the value loss of about $500.

Unfortunately the walk-through didn't produce her stolen property.
"The police told us that they're still finding items, so you never know. Maybe they'll find my stuff or maybe my stolen stuff isn't related" to the burglary ring, said Abend.

Steven Chambers of Johnson Lane had his vehicle broken into in May and taken from him was a large black case that held $6,000 worth of cosmetology material and equipment. As a cosmetology student, he had to suspend classes because of the theft, he said.

He filed insurance in which he got a "very small" portion of the loss back, he said.

"It wasn't even around the amount that it cost," he said. "And really, who would need sheers, makeup, flat irons and curling irons anyway? These are things that are specific to professional cosmetologists."

Chambers found the case on Monday but none of the equipment was inside.

"I can't fathom the reason why they would need this. Pawn shops wouldn't even take any of this stuff into their inventory so they either probably tossed it into the Dumpster or someone is using it. I just don't understand why this wasn't recovered," he said.

Johnson Lane resident Ken Jones was hoping to find his new, unopened Jimi Hendrix CD "Valley of Neptune", which was released in March and was stolen out of his vehicle in May.

"They got the Jimi Hendrix, and I was really looking forward to listening to it," he said.

Also stolen were a couple of Kansas CDs and a Them Crooked Vultures CD case.

"The CD was in the player. I just want the case back," said Jones.