Stolen items recovered, two women charged

Items believed stolen in a series of weekend vehicle burglaries in the Gardnerville Ranchos were recovered after two women were arrested in a car loaded with the missing property.

Michelle Howard, 21, and Lea Jaramillo, 20, were arrested Monday as they arrived at Howard's home, reportedly on their way to San Jose, Calif., with the items that included hundreds of compact disks, backpacks, a camera.

Deputies recovered a stolen wallet that included Nevada and California identification cards, and Social Security cards and credit cards. According to reports, a victim of the weekend burglary said she was notified by an anonymous friend that dozens of CDs with her name were found at Jaramillo's residence along with other items believed to be stolen property.

The victim originally reported the missing IDs, credit cards and CDs along with several thousand dollars from her tax return, paychecks and a food stamp card.

In reporting the theft, the woman told officers she mistakenly left her purse in her car overnight after returning from the grocery store. There was no word whether the money and food stamps were recovered.

Howard and Jaramillo were charged with felony possession of stolen property and appeared Wednesday before East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl.

They are being held in Douglas County Jail on $10,880 bail for Jaramillo and $10,500 bail for Howard.

EnEarl appointed Tod Young to represent Howard. He refused to appoint an attorney for Jaramillo after she said she earned $500 a week babysitting and had saved $5,000 for school. Jaramillo said she would represent herself because she didn't want to spend her school savings.

Their next court appearance is May 19.

Sheriff's Investigator James Booth said the recovered goods included several electronic items believed stolen in the burglaries.

Residents are asked to call Booth at 782-6299 to identify any missing property.