A Vancouver man accused of possessing tens of thousands of dollars in stolen property appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court to face additional allegations in the case.
Dustin P. Medeiros, 30, was arrested Thursday following the first leg of a police investigation into more than $50,000 worth of stolen property.
Medeiros now potentially faces nine counts of second-degree possession of stolen property, eight counts of third-degree possession of stolen property, three counts of possession of a stolen firearm, one count of firearms possession, one count of meth possession and one count of heroin possession.
The Vancouver Police Department’s East and West Neighborhood Response Teams served a search warrant Thursday morning at a storage unit at 505 S.E. Hearthwood Blvd. The renter was listed as Medeiros, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
Police contacted Medeiros outside the unit; he was standing next to his vehicle. A responding officer recognized him from previous contact and knew he has a concealed-carry weapons permit. For this reason, Medeiros was handcuffed and checked for weapons.
While searching Medeiros, the officer found a small bag that contained pills. Medeiros reportedly told police they were different types of Suboxone — commonly prescribed to heroin users. He said he was a drug addict and the pills help him stay awake. He then allegedly admitted that he didn’t have a prescription for the pills and got them from a friend, court documents said.
He was placed under arrest and taken to the East Precinct. Medeiros declined to speak with police.
During the search of the storage unit, police allegedly found a white crystal substance, a digital scale and several small plastic bags. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine, court documents said. Police also found several high-end bicycles valued at several hundred to several thousand dollars, according to court records, and several of the bicycles were later found to be stolen.
At that time, Medeiros was arrested on suspicion of meth possession with the intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, two counts of first-degree possession of stolen property and two counts of second-degree possession of stolen property.
The storage unit was further searched Friday and additional bicycles were recovered, in addition to power tools, electronics, sporting goods, jewelry, firearms, musical instruments and hand tools, court documents said. Some of the items were recovered from Medeiros’ vehicle.
On Saturday, approximately $36,500 worth of stolen property had been identified and was in the process of being reunited with owners. Another approximately $20,000 worth of property was being researched in an attempt to locate victims, according to a bulletin from the Vancouver Police Department.
In addition to the stolen property, police allegedly found a small black plastic box in the unit that contained a black tar substance. That substance tested positive for heroin. Police also recovered a plastic bag with a crystal substance on a key chain in Medeiros’ vehicle, which field-tested positive for meth, according to court documents.
During Medeiros’ Monday court hearing, the prosecution said all of the criminal charges will be filed together.
Defense attorney Steven Rucker was previously appointed to represent him.
Medeiros is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He is next scheduled to appear in court Friday.
Since his arrest was announced, the Vancouver Police Department has been inundated with calls from people who think they might be the rightful owners of the stolen property. Staff aren’t able to manage the number of calls that have come in from people trying to retrieve belongings, said police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
People are asked not to call 911, the police department or its evidence unit about the stolen property.
Neighbors on Watch volunteers helped catalog items over the weekend. Vancouver police will reach out to property owners they’ve been able to match with most of the items. For the rest of the stolen goods, police will post pictures on the city’s website to try to connect the items with their rightful owners.
Staff writer Patty Hastings contributed to this report.
