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Shed man arrested with CDs, stereos and a bar of soap

Scott Condon
Aspen Times Staff Writer

If a CD player, sunglasses or miscellaneous other items have mysteriously disappeared from your vehicle in the midvalley recently, Eagle County Deputy Sheriff Dave Lawson might know why.

Lawson made an arrest in El Jebel on Tuesday that led to the discovery of thousands of dollars worth of stereos, cameras, sunglasses and other gear he believes was stolen.

Lawson received a call at about 1 p.m. March 11 from a property manager who spotted a ladder leading to an open window of a trailer on James Circle, between El Jebel Road and Blue Lake subdivision.



When he checked the premises he discovered Jose Omar Medrano, 22, inside. Lawson said he learned Medrano lived, undetected, in a storage shed in the back yard of the trailer. He entered through an unlocked window and used the shower and toilet, according to the report.

Medrano apparently knew a former occupant of the trailer but the current residents claimed they didn’t know he lived in the shed, and he didn’t have permission to use their facilities, Lawson said. The trailer is owned by a business which uses it for employee housing.




The residents told Lawson they realized items were rearranged in their house but they didn’t believe anything was missing.

Lawson said Medrano was in possession of items missing from elsewhere. He allegedly had the checkbook of a man from Glenwood Springs. When Lawson checked with authorities, he learned the checkbook and a camera were taken from the man’s unlocked car at the park-and-ride by Catherine Store.

Lawson said that discovery made him curious enough to check the shed where Medrano lived. There he discovered thousands of dollars of other equipment and compact discs, which he believes were stolen.

The deputy linked some of the merchandise to three recent burglaries of cars. The remaining gear wasn’t reported as stolen. He said there are still four CD players, a handful of car stereos, a couple of cameras and “a ton of CDs” that are unclaimed.

The items were probably swiped within the last four weeks from vehicles parked at locations around the midvalley. Lawson said people with missing stuff should call him at the Eagle County Sheriff’s substation in El Jebel, 704-2720. Callers will be required to give a general description of the item, then make a positive identification when they hook up with Lawson.

Medrano was arrested for first-degree criminal trespass. He is being held on $3,000 bond in Eagle County Jail.

[Scott Condon’s e-mail address is scondon@aspentimes.com.]

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