After a den of thieves ransacked a rural Northern California home so many times that the owner fled in fear, the property fell into even wilder hands: a group of bears, authorities said.
On Friday, the Butte County district attorney’s office announced charges against 11 suspects accused of repeatedly breaking into and stealing from a 64-year-old woman’s home. Six additional suspects have also been identified in connection with the burglary ring and have charges pending against them, prosecutors said.
The woman first reported that her home — which is located in a remote area of Lovelock, north of Magalia — was burglarized on April 17.
Then the burglars kept coming back. And back. The situation grew so dire that the homeowner, fearing for her safety, stopped staying in her own house, according to authorities.
The repeated robberies caused so much damage to the woman’s home that bears were able to enter the property, prosecutors said. The wildlife intrusion only served to exacerbate the structural disrepair and the woman’s financial loss.
Investigators from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office arrested 10 Magalia residents and one Paradise resident accused of participating in the incursions. Each has been charged with first-degree residential burglary:
- Sean Anthony Crua, 43, of Magalia
- Nicholas Brown, 37, of Magalia
- Mary Ricca, 59, of Magalia
- Sefo Sipa, 37, of Paradise
- Gavin Dominguez-Feathers, 25, of Magalia
- Joey Kupiheanapeahi, 42, of Magalia
- Breanna Maier, 32, of Magalia
- Michael Barnett, 29, of Magalia
- Matthew Bacon, 44, of Magalia
- Lindsey McLaughlin, 37, of Magalia
- Kayla Goebel, 34, of Magalia
Several of the alleged burglars were released on their own recognizance, despite prosecutors’ objections. Crua, Maier, Dominguez-Feathers and Kupiheanapeahi remain in custody at the Butte County Jail with bail set at $50,000.
Barnett and McLaughlin were set to be arraigned Friday afternoon. The identified defendants are due back in court on July 9 and 10.
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