Newport Beach : Stolen Aircraft Radios Worth $100,000 Seized
Authorities from four counties raided an electronics dealer at John Wayne Airport Friday, recovering $100,000 worth of stolen aircraft radios, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
In a search of Continental Avonics Inc., investigators found 43 aircraft radios believed stolen in recent thefts at Southland airports. Several of the radios were confirmed stolen from Bermuda Dunes Airport, Ryan Field in Hemet, Redlands Community Airport and Torrance Airport, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. July 17, 1986 Orange County Digest For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday July 17, 1986 Orange County Edition Metro Part 2 Page 2 Column 2 Metro Desk 3 inches; 100 words Type of Material: Column; Brief; Correction
On July 2, The Times published a story about the recovery of 43 stolen aircraft radios at an electronics dealership at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. Employees of Continental Avionics Inc. did not know the radios were stolen when they bought them from an alleged thief claiming to be in the aircraft salvage business, said Sgt. Bob Doyle, public information officer for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which headed the investigation. “None of its employees are suspects in the thefts,” Doyle said, adding that the company cooperated fully with investigators who arrived with a search warrant at the John Wayne Airport facility. Continental Avionics is not suspected of any wrongdoing, Doyle said.
Police believe that the thief would sell the radios to unsuspecting, legitimate dealers, who would, in turn, sell the radios to the public. He evidently claimed to be in the aircraft salvage business.
Investigators are attempting to locate victims of the ring, which police said has beenoperating out of the Palm Springs area for the past six months.
Robert Davies, 38, of Palm Springs has been in custody since May 30 at Riverside County Jail in Indio on $500,000 bail. He was arrested after a search of his home uncovered evidence of the thefts, police said.
Investigators from police departments in Huntington Beach in Orange County, Redlands in San Bernardino County and Carlsbad in San Diego County, as well as the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, participated in the search.
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