Ten people have been arrested in connection with a series of thefts in which ATMs and safes were targeted, police said.
The arrests are the culmination of a six-month investigation that involved multiple agencies and more than 60 burglaries across the Tucson area. No cash has been recovered.
Authorities have since recovered 15 safes, seven ATMs and two cash registers, according to news releases from the Tucson Police Department and Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The latest incident occurred Monday just before 3:30 a.m. when a citizen called 911 to report that a white van had crashed into the doors of a check cashing business at Prince Road and Stone Avenue, a release said. The caller said that several burglars were removing an ATM from the business.
A Tucson Police officer who was responding to the store spotted the suspects as they fled, at which time they abandoned the van, which had been reported stolen, and ran away.
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Officers were able to find one of the burglars and take him in to custody.
Authorities learned that Marana police had contact the suspect hours earlier along with others as they loitered outside of a business.
Detectives estimate that in excess of 10 stolen vehicles were used during the commission of these thefts.
The other suspects were identified through follow-up investigation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has identified the suspects as:
∫ Daniel Mendoza Esparza, 37, 10 counts of burglary
∫ Arthur Eugene Flores, 48, 10 count of burglary
∫ Donnie Harold Gilbert, 43, 10 counts of burglary
∫ Michael Hotchkiss, 34, two counts of burglary; one count of attempt burglary
∫ Daniel Alan Hotchkiss, 29, 10 counts of burglary
∫ Jeramie Roger Anderson, 28, 10 counts of burglary
∫ Kevin Adam Bursey, 27, 10 counts of Burglary
∫ Tina Hotchkiss, 40, one count trafficking; one count of theft
∫ Kenneth Hotchkiss, 36, one count trafficking; one count of theft
∫ Vincent Ewer, 29, 10 counts of burglary
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