Firefighter Discovers His Own Stolen Property While Responding To Emergency
VACAVILLE (CBS13) -- A firefighter found his own stolen property in a mobile home while responding to a medical emergency, leading to the arrest of one of the home's residents, authorities said.
The Vacaville Police Department said members of the Vacaville Fire Department responded to a home on the 1000 block of Nut Tree Road, where one of the firefighters, Louis Jones, spotted $2,300 worth of stolen property that had been taken during a home burglary a week earlier.
"He comes out and says, 'My stuff was at that house," fellow firefighter Matt Moreno said. "No chance. You gotta be kidding me."
After identifying items like fire department-issued tools, Jones, called police, who questioned 47-year-old Ricky Mankini and discovered more stolen items in his vehicle.
"Later on, the police went back and did some further investigation," Jones said. "They found my washer and dryer in the residence. And they found my lawn mower."
Mankini's brother was the one in need of medical attention and he was taken to a local hospital. Tha's where police caught up to Mankini and arrested him for possession of stolen property. He was booked into the Solano County Jail.
Jones never would have guessed he'd have his stuff back so soon.
"Within a week? Yeah, maybe within a year, maybe within a couple years. But within a week? That's pretty random," he said.
His colleague had a message for would-be thieves.
"Don't steal people's things, and if you do, you never know who you stole it from," Moreno said. "You just stole it from the guy who you called 911 to come help you out."
