Stolen truck leads to $500,000 in stolen goods

Rocky Mountain News

Published October 4, 2006 at midnight

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A stolen pickup in Weld County led authorities to more than $500,000 in stolen vehicles and goods from a dozen jurisdictions, it was reported this morning.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said it began Sunday when Mike Dezell, 33, who lives in the 500 block of Highway 119, was arrested by the State Patrol for allegedly having stolen a pickup truck.

Weld County deputies Kevin Schwartz and Eric Stauts were contacted by the pickup’s owner saying a toolbox was missing. The officers went to Dezell’s home to try to recover it.

They found a stolen license plate and cabinets with an address label on them that deputies recognized as having been taken from a recent break-in at a nearby Weld County home and a home in Longmont.

A search warrant was obtained and two stolen vehicles were found inside a shop on the property.

That led to the recovery of 25 other vehicles including cars, pickups, trailers, ATV’s and motorcycles.

Also found were numerous construction materials, tools, and fixtures from area thefts.

Property recovered were from crimes that occurred in Longmont, Larimer County, Loveland, Thornton, Westminster, Dacono, Platteville, Broomfield, Boulder County, City of Boulder and Fort Collins.

Items are being released to the owners or the investigating law enforcement agency as they are identified.

In total the estimated value of all property recovered so far exceeds $500,000.00.

Anyone with information or questions can call the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at 970-356-4015 ext. 2825 or visit www.weldsheriff.com.

The investigation is continuing.

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