Shotgun, rifles stolen in burglary
Several firearms still missing, according to the sheriff’s department
Two suspects were arrested for allegedly stealing firearms and ammunition from a hardware store in Covelo, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported.
According to the MCSO, deputies responded to the M&M Feed and Supply store in Covelo Nov. 24 when around 3:40 a.m. a burglary was reported. Employees reported that at least one person had forced their way into the building after disabling the alarm system. The items reported missing at the time included “one shotgun, two high powered hunting rifles, and five small caliber rifles, as well as miscellaneous ammunition.”
The following night, around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 25, deputies returned to the business when the alarm company reported that the power was cut to the building’s alarm. When deputies ar
rived, they reportedly saw a pickup truck “fleeing the vicinity at a high rate of speed.”
Given the remote location of the business and the recent calls for service there, deputies were suspicious of the fleeing vehicle and attempted to pull it over, but the driver sped off. After a pursuit lasting approximately five minutes, the vehicle “became disabled while trying to navigate a creek crossing on Dobie Lane,” and the driver fled on foot.
While the suspect was hiding, one of the deputies “provided a loud announcement that he would deploy his K9 partner ‘Bo,’ if the driver did not surrender,” and shortly afterward the suspect “peacefully surrendered to deputies.” The suspect was identified as Eduardo Sifuentes Gonzalez, 39, of Covelo.
Inside his vehicle, deputies reportedly found two of the stolen firearms, and later responded to the home of Wendy Sue Joaquin, 47, on Tabor Lane in Covelo, where they found two more of the stolen firearms.
Joaquin, who was on probation and is a convicted felon, was arrested and booked into Mendocino County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property, being a felon in possession of firearms, and violation of probation. She was held on $100,000 bail which the MCSO reports was “specially requested by a deputy and granted by a Mendocino County Superior Court Judge due to the current COVID-19 emergency zero bail schedule.”
Gonzalez was booked into county jail for two counts of burglary, two counts of looting (described as “burglary during declared emergency due to pandemic”); evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety and resisting arrest. He was held under $15,000 bail.
The MCSO reports that several of the stolen firearms are still missing, and anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts is urged to contact the MCSO by calling the Tip-line at 707234-2100, or the Wetip anonymous crime reporting hotline at 800-782-7463.