On October
1, 2021, around 6:30 a.m., Mesa Police Officers responded to a burglary at an
apartment located at 960 W. Southern Mesa, AZ. A witness told officers that he
watched two people take items from the apartment through a broken bedroom
window and then load them into a white Chevy S10 pickup truck with a camper
shell over the bed.
When
officers arrived, the suspects had already fled, but officers were able to
collect several pieces of evidence left behind, to include latent prints.
The victim
described the stolen items with such detail, some of which were old family heirlooms,
allowing officers to search for these items at local pawn shops.
On October
3, 2021, one item was located at a shop that obtained the subject’s photo ID
and fingerprint as part of the transaction. This subject was identified as
36-year-old William Cloutier.
In addition,
another item from the burglary was pawned at the same shop by a different
subject, identified as 30-year-old Frederick Fernandez, who also submitted a
photo ID and print.
On October
5, 2021, Fernandez pawned six additional stolen items from the burglary at a
different pawn shop that also obtained his photo ID and print as part of the
transaction process.
On October
6, 2021, officers learned that the latent print taken from the broken window
matched the print of Fernandez.
On October
12, 2021, Cloutier pawned three more stolen items from the burglary at a third pawn
shop. Like the other two, this pawn shop also required a photo ID and
fingerprint to complete the transaction.
Cloutier and
Fernandez were taken into custody on October 13, 2021. Both men admitted to
committing the burglary and pawning the items for money.
While
Cloutier was left alone in an interview room, he voiced to officers that he
wanted to “go outside” and said, “I’m not staying in here.” Cloutier used a
chair to stand up on and began pulling ceiling tiles down from the roof,
causing about $1000 worth of damage.
William
Cloutier was booked into jail for the following charges and held on a $2500
bond:
1 count ARS
13-1507A- 2nd Degree Burglary, a class 3 felony
2 counts ARS
13-2307B- Trafficking Stolen Property, a class 2 felony
1 count ARS
13-2503A2- Escape in the 2nd Degree, a class 5 felony
1 count ARS
13-1602A1- Criminal Damage, a class 6 felony
|
William Cloutier Mug Shot
|
Fernandez told
officers that he still had a computer from the victim’s apartment at his
residence. Officers wrote and served a search warrant, thus recovering the
computer for the victim.
Frederick
Fernandez was booked into jail for the following charges and held on a $10,550
bond:
1 count ARS
13-1507A- 2nd Degree Burglary, a class 3 felony
2 counts ARS
13-2307A- Trafficking Stolen Property, a class 2 felony
1 active
MCSO Warrant
|
Frederick Fernandez Mug Shot |
The victim
in this case sent a gift basket of snacks and a personalized message to
Detective Slade, who had been the point of contact in this case. Appreciation
also goes out to Officer McCullough, Detective Vail, and Detective Zuczek who
worked this case diligently until the suspects were apprehended.
|
Detective Zuczek and Detective Slade |
|
Officer McCullough |