3 Held in Series of Simi Valley Burglaries

Simi Valley police have arrested three men, including a father and son, in connection with a rash of 26 home burglaries in the eastern part of the city over the last month.

So far, police have recovered $75,000 worth of firearms, jewelry and electronic equipment taken in the burglaries, Lt. Bob Klanser said.

Police said they found the items Friday in a search of a house in the 3000 block of Fletcher Street. The house is shared by Charles Elmer Stone, 50, and his son, Charles Earl Stone, 26, police said. The two were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

Klanser said the Stones were implicated in the string of burglaries by Gene Curtis Wilks, 32, who had been arrested the day before. Wilks, a transient, was spotted going into a house on Tetlow Avenue by a neighbor, who called police. When officers arrived, Klanser said, they “caught him coming out of the house with property.”

The three men were being held Saturday in Ventura County Jail. The elder Stone’s bail was set at $1 million and his son’s at $5,000. Wilks was held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Klanser said detectives are investigating whether the men may have been involved in several other burglaries in the San Fernando Valley and other parts of Los Angeles.