A man and woman who lived together are being implicated in a burglary of a Carson City real estate office last week.
Joseph Edward Allen, 39, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of robbing the office of his landlord, Empey and Co Inc. Realtors. On Monday, Valori Jane Kjosa, 42, was picked up for suspicion of aiding Allen in the crime.
When the crime was reported, property manager Lacy Perry told investigators that she had suspected the pair because they had been in the office acting strange the evening before. When a vehicle Allen was driving was searched after a traffic stop, property stolen from the office was reportedly found inside.
"I said to the sheriff 'We've just been cased,'" she said, recalling her reaction to the couple's appearance at the office on Friday. "This is the third time we've been robbed in a year. This is an epidemic."
Perry said a radio, various office supplies and a leather jacket were among the items taken from the office. She said Allen was caught when was pulled over after making an illegal left turn.
After Perry conducted a welfare check at the home of Allen and Kjosa, located at 3321 Vista Grande Boulevard, she reported to investigators that she found a set of keys that belonged to another Empey-managed property. The keys came from the office that was robbed, she said.
Since robberies of the office started a year ago, Perry said she and her coworkers have spent many hours trying to retrieve missing information and paperwork that would be of no value to a burglar.
"There is tons of stuff that I will never get back," she said. "People should know that they can easily be victimized. We aren't a little town of 20,000 any more."
Empey and Co. Inc. is located on Curry Street behind the Ormsby House.
Kjosa was found at her daughter's house and asked to follow deputies to the sheriff's department, where she was eventually taken into custody. Kjosa reportedly said she was surprised she was not arrested with Allen, but did not admit to involvement in the crime.
Sgt. Rod King of the Carson City Sheriff's Department said the department is confident of Allen and Kjosa's involvement in the burglary, but added that the pair are "still under investigation for any further incidents which they may have been involved in."
Kjosa is being held on $25,000 bail.
Allen remains in jail also held on $25,000 bail. In addition to the stolen property charge, he had methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia on his possession, reports indicate.
