COVINA, Calif. -- Police on Monday announced the arrest of four people involved in a burglary ring that targeted victims, including public officials and a judge, using information from the Internet.
The group, which is made up of family and friends, is tied to at least 20 residential burglaries in Covina, San Dimas and Glendora, according to Covina Sgt. Ray Marquez.
The suspects relied on police scanners to avoid getting caught in the act before making their getaways, Marquez said.
During the arrests, authorities recovered a list of what they are calling potential victims. The list, found in a suspect's home, includes names, addresses, pictures of houses and employment information for potential victims, including the information of a judge and multiple public officials.
Police would not release the list our say how many people or homes are on it, but they said the information came from online databases.
Detectives have confirmed that some of the targets have not had their homes burglarized, though they have not gone through the entire file, Covina Sgt. Ray Marquez said.
Five people were arrested last week and over the weekend in connection with the burglary ring, though one of the arrests was for a drug charge. During the arrests police recovered various stolen items, including portable safes, jewelry, iPods, CDs and coins.
In custody are:
Thomas Gordon Dandurand, 32, of Pomona, who was arrested on suspicion of burglary.
His wife, Susana Chaidez, 28, of Pomona, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact.
Henry Arce, 21, of Baldwin Park was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property.
Phillip Gordon Dandurand, 18, of Pomona was arrested for allegedly assisting his uncle Thomas Dandurand in disposing of property from the burglaries.
Thomas Arce, 42, of Baldwin Park, was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine.
Investigators are still looking for Anthony Ray Arce, 27, of Baldwin Park, who they believe spearheaded the break-ins.
Marquez said the Dandurands are friends with the Arces. He called the burglaries crimes of opportunity, and said the suspects weren't part of any organized crime organization.
The investigation into the group started after Thomas Dandurand was arrested Nov. 24 for burglary.
That day, police received information at about 7:30 a.m. of a possible burglary in progress in the 900 block of North Bender Ave.
The residents were on vacation. A relative who stopped by the home to feed the pets noticed an unfamiliar vehicle parked in front of the house and saw that the front door was forced open, according to Marquez.
While heading to the police station, the relative saw two sheriff's deputies and relayed what he saw.
Deputies determined the house was in the jurisdiction of the Covina Police Department and told their desk to notify Covina police.
Meanwhile, the deputies nabbed the alleged burglar, Thomas Dandurand, when he left the house. He was turned over to Covina police.
Marquez said officers found a portable police scanner on Thomas Dandurand and a scanner in the alleged getaway car. They also found items taken from the house on him and in the vehicle.
The scanners were tuned to the Covina police frequency.
Detectives believe Thomas Dandurand and Anthony Arce committed the burglaries. Marquez said police believe the duo used the scanners to avoid coming into contact with police - when they heard police responding to their burglaries over the scanner, they would flee.
But in the Nov. 24 caper, the scanner didn't help, because the sheriff's deputies were alerted by the relative in person.
"As soon as we put the call out to officers, that's what alerted him (Dandurand) to get out not knowing the deputies were around the corner," Marquez said.
He said the deputies talked to each other on their car radios which Dandurand's scanner didn't pick up.
During their investigation, detectives searched two residences in Pomona, one in Duarte and several in Baldwin Park.
Marquez said police found items stolen from previous burglaries in Thomas Dandurand's home and the list of future burglary victims he allegedly compiled.
Thomas Dandurand, Phillip Dandurand, Chaidez, Thomas Arce and Henry Arce are scheduled for arraignment todayat West Covina Superior Court.
Henry Arce was being held at Men's Central Jail while the four other suspects are in Covina jail, according to sheriff's booking records.
Copyright 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc.All Rights Reserved
