Amador County – Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said “thanks to aggressive and proactive patrol work,” the Ione Police Department solved a felony theft case that occurred last weekend, and “a local business recovered a $2,000 loss due to theft.”

On Saturday, Aug. 6, the Ione Police Department responded to Paisano’s Pizzeria at 325 Preston Avenue in Ione to a reported theft. The owner reported that a $2,000 industrial ice machine, measuring about three by four feet, had been stolen from the alley behind the business.

Johnson said the “timeline of the theft was narrowed down to having occurred sometime between 10 p.m. the prior evening” (Friday, Aug. 5) and 3:30 pm on Saturday, Aug. 6.

The pizzeria is located in the Ione Plaza Shopping Center and shares the alley with several other businesses, including the Ione Plaza Market. Johnson said the Ione Police Officer “contacted the market owner and asked for assistance in reviewing his video surveillance footage that covers the alleyway.”

After review of the video, Johnson said “a pickup truck with the stolen ice machine in the bed was captured fleeing the scene at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 6. The officer was not able to obtain a license plate number from the footage but got a good vehicle description.”

Johnson said “later, at shift change that evening, the officer briefed the graveyard (shift) officer that was coming on duty. The “graveyard officer had worked the night prior and immediately recalled seeing the described vehicle. While out on patrol. The graveyard officer followed the pickup and recorded the license plate.”

The two officers “obtained the registered owner information from the license plate and responded to the address in the city of Herald,” in rural Sacramento County, to investigate.

From Herald, “the investigation led to two suspects residing in Galt.” A “45-year-old female (the registered owner of the vehicle) and her 36-year-old boyfriend were interrogated about the theft and soon admitted to the crime,” Johnson said. “The stolen ice machine was recovered and eventually returned to the business.”

Johnson said the “couple will be charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of theft, conspiracy, and vandalism.” He said the suspects’ names are being withheld due to the ongoing investigation, and pending charges.

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