5 arrested in burglary-ring case

Five people were arrested in a chain-reaction of incidents after authorities responded to a reported burglary in progress on Spruce Street. Two of the suspects were apprehended inside the house.

“The investigation really started with a rash of property crimes,” said sheriff’s Detective Bob Barber. “Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 11, there were 34 reported residential burglaries and 22 vehicle burglaries. That’s in just 10 days.”

Teresa Gokey, 32, and Krystal Evans, aka Krystal Thompson, 28, were arrested at the Spruce Street residence, Barber said. Both are Del Norte County residents.

“Most of law enforcement knows Krystal as Krystal Thompson,” he said. “Both have prior prison time.”

A series of leads led to the subsequent arrests of Uldericco Benavides, 32, John Mernice Gassaway, 53, and his nephew John Timothy Gassaway, 31. All three men are residents of Del Norte County.

The Gassaways and Benavides were arrested on suspicion of receiving and possessing stolen property; Gokey and Thompson were arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary.

Officer Barber jumped into her patrol car and pulled the vehicle over on 10th Street.

“In the process of making contact with the driver of the car, Officer Barber took a look inside and discovered a large amount of stolen property,” Detective Barber said. “Officer Barber summoned us to the scene.”

At that point not only did a deputy identify a piece of stolen property in the back of the car, a “citizen also identified stolen property,” Detective Barber said.

In both cases the property identified could be traced back to the recent string of property crimes.

The first car, impounded at the scene of the interrupted break-in, became the next important lead that led to the arrest of Benavides and both Gassaways.

“We ascertained that the car driven by Goke and Thompson was in the process of being purchased by Jonnie Gassaway (the nephew),” Detective Barber said. “Upon locating Jonnie’s residence, we ended up arresting him because he fit the description of a third suspect in the Spruce Street break-in who had been seen by neighbors casing the neighborhood the day before.”

A large amount of stolen property was recovered in the younger Gassaway’s residence, Detective Barber said.

While the deputies were at Gassaway’s home, Benavides showed up at the residence, and had even more stolen property in his car, Detective Barber said.

“Benavides confessed that the property in his car was stolen,” Detective Barber said.

At that point both stolen and personal property at the residence was linked to Gokey, which is a further connection that convinced authorities they might be dealing with a burglary ring,  said Detective Barber.

 “In a search of the residence we found more stolen property in the older Gassaway’s trailer,” which was on his nephew’s property, Detective Barber said. He added that more arrests are expected.

“The reason that this fell in our lap is because of the cooperation between our two departments,” Detective Barber said referring to CCPD and DNSO. “The sharing of info, and Officer Barber’s traffic stop, really broke this case open.”

Detective Barber said that because this is an ongoing investigation, the Sheriff’s Office is encouraging citizens to report all suspicious behavior, and take extra care to lock vehicles and houses.

Detective Barber asked that anybody who has had a theft should file a report with either agency, and anyone with information that may lead to an arrest or conviction is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office. 

“We want people to know this is going on and to watch out for their neighbors,” Detective Barber said. “Any call with information will remain completely anonymous.”