Deputies follow shoe prints in the snow from Lake Tahoe home burglary to 3 suspects
Three people were arrested on suspicion of burglary after deputies followed fresh shoe prints in the snow from a home along the shore of Lake Tahoe to a nearby motel, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
The burglary was reported shortly after midnight at the home along Brockway Vista Avenue in Kings Beach.
The home owners, who were not home at the time, called 911 to report they watched suspects enter their home and take their belongings, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday in a Facebook post. The owners watched the burglary suspects through remote access to security cameras at their home.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home and discovered numerous sets of fresh shoe prints in the snow that led to the nearby motel. There, the deputies spoke with two suspects who were initially cooperative.
Sheriff’s officials said a third suspect refused to come out of the motel room, but he eventually surrendered after one of the deputies told him he would deploy his canine partner.
Jesse Kulp, 42, of Placerville; Daniel McElroen, 29, of Rancho Cordova; and Amanda Whedbee, 34, of Carson City, Nevada, were arrested at the motel. They remained in custody Tuesday afternoon at the Placer County Jail.
Kulp faces two counts of burglary, along with charges of criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property, misdemeanor resisting arrest and misdemeanor battery on a peace officer, according to sheriff’s custody records. His bail was set at $60,000.
McElroen faces two counts of burglary, along with charges of criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property. He also was wanted on a Sacramento County arrest warrant. His bail was set at $245,000.
Whedbee faces a burglary charge, along with charges of criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property. Her bail was set at $90,000.
Sheriff’s officials said Kulp, McElroen and Whedbee are linked to numerous home burglaries in the Lake Tahoe Area in the past few weeks. They also said investigators have recovered stolen property from at least four other burglaries, including a loaded gun and a stolen vehicle.
“Thanks to a diligent homeowner and the quick response from our patrol deputies, our detectives have been able to solve numerous burglaries in our area,” according to the sheriff’s Facebook post.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:28 PM.
