2 Arrests Lead to 2 Garages Full of Stolen Goods

The pair of self-storage garages in Corona easily could have been mistaken for a department store.

They were filled with refrigerators and sofas, bicycles and coffee tables, bedroom furniture and weight machines, computer equipment and scuba gear, silverware and ski equipment.

But the merchandise--nearly all of it brand new--was stolen, police officials said Friday.

After questioning two suspects, detectives spent most of Friday afternoon emptying the Corona garages. The suspects were arrested late Thursday by Placentia police at a house at 550 S. Richfield Road.

Lt. Daryll Phoman, a Placentia police investigator, said Rick Verdell Graves, 23, of Anaheim and Joseph David Christi, 25, of Buena Park remained at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail each on charges of burglary and receiving stolen property.

The men, believed responsible for a string of thefts in Placentia, La Habra, Anaheim and Fullerton, had a receipt for renting the two Corona storage garages. Police obtained a warrant and took a look inside.

Officers found about $75,000 worth of stolen property in the garages at Ayres Self-Storage on Pomona Road in northwestern Corona, said Lt. Bob Martin, commander of detectives for the Corona Police Department.