Three Riverside County gang members/affiliates caught at Temecula checkpoint with iPads stolen from San Diego County schools

Three individuals were caught with stolen iPads yesterday, Thurs., Jan. 30, at the Temecula Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 15.

According to San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, arrested and charged with multiple felony counts, including burglary, receiving stolen property, and allegations of felonies committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang were Eyon Zimmerman, 19; Trevor Williams, 21; and Thomas Burleson, 21.

Williams and Burleson are documented gang members in Riverside County.

The defendants were arraigned today, Friday, Feb. 1, in San Diego Superior Court and pleaded not guilty. If convicted of all the charges, Zimmerman would face 13 years, Williams would face nine years, and Burleson seven years in state prison.

"Border Patrol Agents and San Diego Police Department Officers arrested Zimmerman, Williams and Burleson at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check point near Temecula on January 30 shortly after a burglary at Del Mar Heights Elementary," said Dumanis.

Authorities said twenty-nine stolen iPads were recovered from the suspects’ vehicle during the stop.

“Our investigation is ongoing and more arrests in this case are possible,” said Dumanis. “I want to give credit to our C.A.T.C.H. Team and all of the law enforcement agencies who are working cooperatively on these burglaries and their connections to gang activity in Southern California.”

Dumanis said between mid-November 2012 and January 29, 2013, law enforcement has reported a series of eleven burglaries that have occurred at various schools located in San Diego County.

"In total, thieves have stolen 115 Apple laptops and 123 iPads. In an ongoing joint investigation with the Computer And Technology Crimes High Tech Response Team (CATCH), the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Carlsbad Police Department, members of the Riverside County gang, the Dorner Blocc Crips have been identified as suspects in the burglary series."