On May 7, deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a residence on Hearst-Willits Road regarding a residential burglary, according to a report written by Liz Evangelatos, an administrative assistant with the sheriff's office. Upon arrival it was determined that numerous handguns and rifles were taken from the residence.
A subsequent investigation determined that 19-year-old Jesse Jewel of Willits had contacted the victims' granddaughter with knowledge of the burglary, prior to the incident being publicly reported, Evangelatos said.
As the investigation continued Jewel admitted to deputies that he and one other person entered the residence on Hearst-Willits Road and took at least five handguns, 11 rifles and two shotguns. Evangelatos said that Jewel also admitted to taking the firearms to an address located on Della Avenue in Willits, and claimed to have been under the influence of methamphetamine when burglarizing the home.
Following up on investigative leads, deputies responded to a residence on Ridgewood Road where Evangelatos said they obtained more investigative leads and arrested 22-year-old Willits resident Jessica Bauer, who had five outstanding arrest warrants.
Deputies, personnel from the Willits Police Department and Mendocino County Adult Probation then responded to an address located on Alameda Street in Willits. While at that location numerous persons were contacted, and subsequently arrested, for being under the influence of a controlled substance, Evangelatos said.
She said those subjects arrested included Jerry Alvarez, 49; Susan Casey, 40; Brian Wood, 38; and Kimberly Wood, 35, all of Willits.
Also located at the residence was 43-year-old Wesley Silva, who Evangelatos said admitted that many of the stolen weapons were located at his residence.
Deputies were led to a garage on the property where they located many of the stolen firearms hidden within the walls of the garage, according to Evangelatos' report.
Evangelatos said Silva was placed under arrest for possession of stolen property, being a felon in possession of firearms, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
