Two men were arrested for a slew of charges following a theft investigation that turned up a cache of weapons at a home in San Bernardino.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the incident was reported around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning when the reporting party requested help retrieving stolen property.
The caller told the Sheriff’s Dispatch that he arrived to work at a construction site in the 17800 block of Valley Boulevard in Bloomington to find that items had been stolen and that he had tracked them to a house in the 7000 block of Tippecanoe Avenue in unincorporated San Bernardino.
“The business owner believed he located his property and a vehicle involved in the theft at the address on Tippecanoe Avenue,” SBSD said in a press release. “[Deputies] responded, detained possible suspects, viewed video surveillance of the initial theft and notified the Fontana Station, who services the area where the crime occurred.”
Fontana deputies authored a search warrant for the location on Tippecanoe Avenue. The subsequent search turned up a large stash of weapons and ammunition, authorities said.
Among the weapons found were numerous firearms – including a “ghost gun” that had its serial number removed – as well as a fully automatic rifle with ammunition and an illegal large capacity magazine.
In addition, deputies also found money believed to be from sales of the stolen property as well as a “significant amount” of stolen clothing and other items, which indicated that the suspects may have been involved in retail and cargo theft, SBSD said.
A grenade was also found at the location, deputies confirmed. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Arson/Bomb Detail responded and determined that the grenade was inert.
Property stolen from the construction site was also recovered and returned to the owner.
The suspects were identified as Houston Martinez, 35, and Efrain Martinez Mondragon, 57, both of unincorporated San Bernardino. Martinez was determined to be a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
They both face several felony charges, including grand theft, burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of an unserialized firearm.
Martinez also faces an added charge of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Both men were booked into the West Valley Detention Center and later released from custody after posting bail, law enforcement officials said.
Anyone with information on the investigation is asked to contact the Fontana Sheriff’s Station by calling 909-356-6767.
Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous should contact the We-Tip Hotline by calling 1-800-782-7463 or visiting their website.
