On October 31, 2018 at approximately 8:30 a.m., Glen Pine called for assistance at the downtown parking garage. Mr. Pine is a City of Redding employee who manages the parking garage and surrounding areas. Mr. Pine saw a male and female loitering at the garage and noticed they were looking into cars parked near Shasta College. Mr. Pine noticed the female had a portable speaker that was playing loud music while her male counterpart was checking cars. He believed she was using the music to mask the male’s efforts at entering cars.
Mr. Pine watched as the male entered a car and then fled. The male and female ran from the garage northbound down an alley after realizing they were being watched. The male and female separated in an effort to confuse Mr. Pine.
Officer R. Ellis arrived and began looking for the suspected thieves. He located Jeremy Dutcher, 40 years of age of Redding, and Harley Schwartzengraber, 19 years of Anderson, in the alley behind Hinkle’s Market. Both were detained and found to be in possession of a purse belonging to Casey Klein, 20 years of Redding. The purse was taken from her car that now suffered a broken side window.
Suspected thieves Dutcher and Schwartzengraber admitted to being in the area but both downplayed their roles. Dutcher and Schwartzengraber were in possession of suspected heroin and drug paraphernalia. Both admitted that they were addicted to heroin. Dutcher also had an arrest warrant that had been issued.
Dutcher and Schwartzengraber were taken to the Shasta County Jail where they were booked for auto burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of burglary tools. Klein’s property was released back to her.
The Redding Police Department recognizes the need to work in partnership with our community to prevent criminal activity. The actions taken by Mr. Pine led to the successful return of the victim’s property and the identity of two suspected thieves. We continue to encourage everyone to keep their vehicles clear of all personal property where criminals can easily see it. Windows are simply not secure enough to prevent criminals from entering our cars.
