Raid Takes In $100,000 in Stolen Aircraft Equipment

Just 10 days after authorities from four counties claimed to have broken a major avionics theft ring, police here arrested four men who allegedly had $100,000 worth of stolen aircraft electronics.

Corona police also seized $20,000 in cash, two ounces of methamphetamine and several handguns in Monday’s raid in the parking lot of a Corona motel, said Lt. Bob Martin, commander of detectives for the Corona Police Department.

Some of the equipment recovered had been stolen from airplanes at Corona Municipal Airport, Brackett Field in La Verne and Redlands Municipal Airport, Martin said. Police are trying to find owners of the rest.

Three men were arrested Monday on suspicion of possessing stolen property and released on $2,500 bail each, Martin said. They are: Roberto Lonero, 32, of Palm Springs; Michael Mezger, 34, of Helendale, Calif., and Gary Eaves, 39, of Ventura.

A fourth suspect, John Webb, 27, of Barstow, was booked on suspicion of possessing stolen property, possessing dangerous drugs for sale and possessing a loaded firearm. He was released on $5,000 bail.

Another $100,000 worth of stolen aircraft radios was recovered in Orange County on June 27 when investigators from Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties raided an electronics dealer at John Wayne Airport.

Some of the 43 radios that they found were confirmed stolen from Bermuda Dunes Airport, Ryan Field in Hemet, Redlands Municipal Airport and Torrance Airport, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said.

The Riverside deputies cooperated in their investigation with officers from the Huntington Beach, Redlands and Carlsbad police departments. Corona’s detectives planned to compare notes with those investigators, Martin said Tuesday.