3rd Burglary in 2 Days at Cypress Home Was One Too Many

CYPRESS — The first time, the burglars got a car, jewelry and electronics. The second time they struck the house, they got a truck. The third time, police said, they got caught.

Four people were arrested Monday after they hit the same house in the 6800 block of Kent Way three times in two days, police said. The third time, a police investigator was at the home following up on the first crime.

“It’s greed, I guess, more than anything else,” Cypress Police Agent Jeff Wong said. “They had a good thing going, so they kept going.”

The one-house crime wave began at 10 p.m. Sunday when the unidentified residents of the home returned from a vacation to find a door broken, their home burglarized and their car missing. Police took a report but had no leads, according to Lt. John Schaefer.

Just hours later, the residents awoke to find that now their second vehicle was gone, police said.

Then, about 3 p.m. Monday, Agent Al Watts was at the home talking to the victims when the garage door opened and a stranger walked in. That man, identified a Joseph M. Adams, 37, of Garden Grove, was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and residential burglary.

Soon, Adams’ girlfriend, Lorraine P. Gonzales, 28, of Garden Grove, was arrested on suspicion of the same crimes. Investigators followed their trail back to the Tropic Motel in Anaheim, where they found one of the stolen vehicles, Schaefer said.

Police waited and watched until the second stolen vehicle pulled up with two more suspects, John R. Vaughn, 37, of Westminster, and Jan M. Patterson, 38, of Anaheim, Schaefer said. They were also booked on suspicion of possessing stolen property and residential burglary. Police found the motel room was jammed with the victims’ property and items from other crimes.