Parker Dreamin
09-17-2007, 09:00 AM
Police say cargo-theft ring smashed
The Orange County Register
IRVINE - A break-in at a luxury wheel manufacturer led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen wheels, plasma televisions and electronics stuffed in the repair bays of a local tire and wheel shop here and three nearby storage units. The store's owner and another man are now facing charges, accused of running a cargo-theft ring that stretch across at least two counties. The ring is now in pieces, authorities said.
Jeffery Bruyntjens, 35, owner of The Wheel & Tire Connection in Irvine , sits in Orange County jail without bail, charged with receiving stolen property. Brian Garin, 29, of Cypress also has been charged with receiving stolen property but is out on bail.
Both men are scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 5.
Bruyntjens' wife, Laura Ann, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, but charges have not been filed against her.
It was over Labor Day weekend when $250,000 in custom rims and other high-end merchandise disappeared from MHT Luxury Alloy Wheels at 12300 Industry St. in Garden Grove . The burglary was discovered Sept. 4, and the search for the missing rims began.
After a week, the trail led Garden Grove investigators and members of the department's Career Criminal Apprehension Team to The Wheel & Tire Connection, at 51 Auto Center Drive in Irvine , police Lt. Dennis Ellsworth said. Detectives showed up Sept. 10 and found a stash of stolen rims and other goods from the MHT heist hidden in the store's repair bays.
A trip to three nearby self-storage units turned up the rest of the remaining MHT goods, along with truckloads of flat-screen televisions, computers, tools, golf clubs and more wheels.
What didn't belong to MHT belonged to Sharp/Nissin International Transport, Yellow Freight and Central Freight, which suffered tens of thousands of dollars in losses after thieves raided their terminals in Mira Loma and Fontana.
The stolen goods ended up in the storage lockers and at The Wheel & Tire Connection, but Garden Grove investigators are not releasing how.
The Bruyntjens, who run the store together and live in Laguna Niguel, have a history of run-ins with the law, including Jeffery's convictions for commercial burglary and receiving property going back to 1996. The couple was charged in 2001 with second-degree commercial burglary and using other people's credit cards. After pleading guilty to fraudulently having building access cards, Laura was sentenced to one day in jail and 120 hours community service. Her husband was sentenced to more than a year in jail.
The Orange County Register
IRVINE - A break-in at a luxury wheel manufacturer led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen wheels, plasma televisions and electronics stuffed in the repair bays of a local tire and wheel shop here and three nearby storage units. The store's owner and another man are now facing charges, accused of running a cargo-theft ring that stretch across at least two counties. The ring is now in pieces, authorities said.
Jeffery Bruyntjens, 35, owner of The Wheel & Tire Connection in Irvine , sits in Orange County jail without bail, charged with receiving stolen property. Brian Garin, 29, of Cypress also has been charged with receiving stolen property but is out on bail.
Both men are scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 5.
Bruyntjens' wife, Laura Ann, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, but charges have not been filed against her.
It was over Labor Day weekend when $250,000 in custom rims and other high-end merchandise disappeared from MHT Luxury Alloy Wheels at 12300 Industry St. in Garden Grove . The burglary was discovered Sept. 4, and the search for the missing rims began.
After a week, the trail led Garden Grove investigators and members of the department's Career Criminal Apprehension Team to The Wheel & Tire Connection, at 51 Auto Center Drive in Irvine , police Lt. Dennis Ellsworth said. Detectives showed up Sept. 10 and found a stash of stolen rims and other goods from the MHT heist hidden in the store's repair bays.
A trip to three nearby self-storage units turned up the rest of the remaining MHT goods, along with truckloads of flat-screen televisions, computers, tools, golf clubs and more wheels.
What didn't belong to MHT belonged to Sharp/Nissin International Transport, Yellow Freight and Central Freight, which suffered tens of thousands of dollars in losses after thieves raided their terminals in Mira Loma and Fontana.
The stolen goods ended up in the storage lockers and at The Wheel & Tire Connection, but Garden Grove investigators are not releasing how.
The Bruyntjens, who run the store together and live in Laguna Niguel, have a history of run-ins with the law, including Jeffery's convictions for commercial burglary and receiving property going back to 1996. The couple was charged in 2001 with second-degree commercial burglary and using other people's credit cards. After pleading guilty to fraudulently having building access cards, Laura was sentenced to one day in jail and 120 hours community service. Her husband was sentenced to more than a year in jail.