Three jailed in thefts from cars at Pilot Butte, Hollinshead parks

A California man and two transients were arrested Tuesday on numerous theft and other charges, accused of breaking into two locked cars at Pilot Butte State Park and Hollinshead Park and using credit and debit cards to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of items before being caught, police said Wednesday.

They also said other items were recovered that were stolen in other thefts around the city.

Police responded shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday to a woman who reported someone entered her locked vehicle parked at Pilot Butte State Park and took personal items, including several credit cards, Lt. Clint Burleigh said. Miller determined the suspects made several purchases at stores around the Cascade Village Shopping Center.

Officers went to the stores where the purchases were made and reviewed security video to put together descriptions of the suspects and their car. An officer drove around the area and soon located three people matching the descriptions.

The officer contacted the three and identified them as Paola Rodriguez, 21, of Reseda, California, and transients Juan Antonio Alvear, 21, and Leidy Fuenzalida, 29, Burleigh said.

An investigation found a car “controlled” by the three suspects contained several items bought with the credit cards stolen from Miller, the lieutenant said in a news release. Several thousands of dollars’ worth of fraudulent charges were made to Miller’s accounts at Bend businesses.

More stolen items were found in the vehicle, linking the suspects to other thefts throughout Bend, according to Burleigh, who said the investigation is ongoing as they match up items reported stolen in the police department’s records system.

The search of the suspects’ vehicle also tied it to another Tuesday theft case, win which a Bend man had items stolen from a vehicle he had parked at Hollinshead Park in the late afternoon. Burleigh said the suspects used the man’s credit and debit cards to buy several thousands of dollars in items from area businesses.

The three suspects were taken to the Deschutes County Jail and booked on three counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, six felony counts and one misdemeanor count of fraudulent use of a credit card, eight counts of first-degree theft and seven counts of identity theft. Burleigh said more charges could be added as the investigation continues.

They remained jailed early Thursday, on initial bail of $40,000 for Rodriguez, $210,000 for Alvear and $170,000 for Fuenzalida, jail records showed.

Burleigh said Bend police want to remind residents and visitors to lock your vehicles and remove valuables. While both victims in this case locked their vehicles, that doesn’t always prevent others from breaking in and taking items.