RIVERSIDE (CNS) - After they failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing, warrants were issued Thursday for two men accused of perpetrating a rash of burglaries throughout the Inland Empire and other places.
Lehman Frank Mitchell, 43, of Moreno Valley, and Dache Kelly Jr., 24, of Riverside, were arrested last June following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.
Mitchell is charged with 11 counts of felony burglary, six counts of vandalism, five counts of grand theft, four counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Kelly is charged with nine counts of felony burglary, four counts of vandalism and three counts of grand theft.
The men were released on bonds last fall and were scheduled to jointly appear for a status conference at the Riverside Hall of Justice Wednesday, but they were no-shows, according to court records.
Their whereabouts were unknown.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Gary Polk signed bench warrants for the men's arrests.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Josh Hephner, the defendants allegedly burglarized a business in the 28400 block of Old Town Front Street in Temecula last April 9.
The same Audi SUV that was seen coming and going from the establishment was connected to a break-in on May 22 in the 27300 block of Jefferson Avenue in Temecula, Hephner said.
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Investigators ultimately traced the SUV to a residence on Perris Boulevard in Moreno Valley, culminating in Kelly's arrest.
"During a search of the vehicle, deputies located multiple items of evidentiary value from the recent burglaries," the sergeant said.
He said further investigation led detectives to Mitchell, who was taken into custody without incident at a residence on 11th Street in Riverside.
"It was determined that both Kelly and Mitchell were responsible for several other commercial burglaries throughout multiple counties in Southern California," Hephner said.
Court records show Mitchell has a string of prior convictions, mainly for burglary, for which he has served time in state prison.
Kelly has no documented priors in Riverside County, though he does have convictions in another jurisdiction that weren't listed in court documents. He also has several unresolved felony cases pending adjudication locally.
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