Two men were arrested after police tracked down two stolen Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers meant for victims of November’s destructive Camp Fire, KCRA reported.
Wayne Jerome Bergman, 58, is facing charges of vehicle theft and possessing a stolen trailer. Zachary Adam Crouchley, 40, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle and a probation violation, according to a news release from the Redding Police Department. The men, both of Bella Vista, were booked into the Shasta County Jail.
Early Friday morning, a resident of the Reddingwood Mobile Home and RV Park awoke to the sound of metal scraping outside their home, police said.
The resident then saw a white Chevrolet SUV dragging one of the trailers — valued at about $30,000 — off the lot and called police.
One of the recovered FEMA trailers
FEMA had set up the travel trailers at the mobile home park a few days before to house victims of the Camp Fire. Police determined a second trailer was also missing from the RV park and had been taken overnight.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter located one of the stolen trailers and guided officers to a home in the Millville area of Shasta County.
Police and CHP officers went to the home and found Bergman. He admitted to taking the trailer from the RV park. Two other men in the home had warrants out for their arrest, but police said they weren’t connected to the theft.
Wayne Jerome Bergman
Police said they then got a lead about the location of the second stolen trailer. Redding police, with the help of the CHP, tracked it down at a home on Albatross Way in Bella Vista. The homeowner said Bergman was his brother and that the trailer had showed up at his home at some point Friday morning.
While recovering the second stolen trailer, officers noticed a truck, which they described as suspicious, pulling up near Bergman’s brother’s home.
“Believing that the truck could be at the location to pick up the trailer, officers contacted the occupants of the truck,” Redding police said.
The driver, Crouchley, was on probation for possession of an illegal weapon. The truck had been reported stolen.
Hope Miller from KCRA wrote this story. For more stories from KCRA, please visit their website here.
